Ghost in the Code
by sirensoundwave
Summary: Turbo locked up everyone's memories to insert himself in the game. All was well for him and (arguably) the entire game for 15 years. But the reset put everything back where it belonged. And unfortunately, that meant several racers would now suffer from an identity crisis. Of epic proportions when the Random Roster Race takes on a whole new meaning. Ongoing.
1. Alter(ed) State of Mind

Turbo locked up everyone's memories to insert himself in the game. All was well for him and (arguably) the entire game for 15 years. But the reset put everything back where it belonged. And unfortunately, that meant several racers would now suffer from an identity crisis. Of epic proportions when the Random Roster Race takes on a whole new meaning.

Hey, this story covers something the movie alluded to- there's more racers in the game than we see because of something Turbo did. But what? Why? What if those other racers aren't locked away exactly like the others think?

For those not reading on AO3, here's the current tag list:

Rating:

Not Rated

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories:

F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi

Fandom:

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Relationships:

More TBD - Relationship, Tamora Calhoun/Fix-It Felix Jr., Applejack O'Lantern/Rocher du Reese, Astrotwinkle Starglazer/Cherriebomma (may or may not be romantic), Gloyd Orangeboar/Rancis Fluggerbutter

Characters:

Wreck-It Ralph, Fix-It Felix Jr.,Tamora Calhoun, Jeanette Gloria Havok (OC), Vanellope von Schweetz, Taffyta Muttonfudge, Poproxie Cola (OC), Candlehead, Cherriebomma (OC), Gloyd Orangeboar, Applejack O'Lantern (OC), Rancis Fluggerbutter, Rocher du Resse (OC), Snowanna Rainbeau, Chailata Marmachoca (OC), Swizzle Malarkey, Astrotwinkle Starglazer (OC), Crumbelina di Caramello, Sorbetty Gingerspice (OC), Minty Zaki, Sticky Wipplesnit, Torvald Batterbutter, Adorabeezle Winterpop, Nougetsia Brumblestain, Jubileena Bing-Bing, Citrusella Flugpucker, Voland (OC), Heather Lightheart (OC), Dorian Twilight (OC), Turbo, References to others from the movie, various non movie video game cameos

Additional Tags:

identity crisis, Post Movie, things aren't what they seem, what did Turbo DO, Supernatural Elements, Disturbing Themes, Drama, Angst, There is totally a point to these OCs, I mean it, the general warnings that apply to how my mind works, references to Reboot TV series (1994), blatant, I mean REALLY obvious I'm a fan of that show, Yes I do understand how tagging works

Language:

English

Series:

« Part 7 of the Plot Bunnie Farm Escapees series »

Here we go!

*GITC*

It started about a week after the reset.

Everybody was settling into the new normal pretty well. Since nobody remember many specifics of how the game was a decade and a half ago everyone pretty much accepted that Turbo's tweaking wasn't how they were meant to live their lives. And that was that. Until...

"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE UNLOCKED CHERRIEBOMMA!" The game bellowed. For the 7th race in a row, this gamer had won with the same cake themed racer. Candlehead struck her winning pose with gusto but...who was Cherriebomma?

"You trying to unlock em all?" Another boy with a blond buzz cut leaned over the back of the seat.

"Oh yeah. I wanna see how many I can. It's harder to do on the arcade version but Mr. Litwak gave me permission to try. If it's this popular now, imagine if all the characters were availible." The seated boy said.

"It'd definately make things more interestin..." The other kid shrugged.

After Yuni sounded the all clear, the Sugar Rush Racers met for the random roster race.

"Vanellope vonSchweetz!" After tossing in her coin, the President adjusted her goggles and turned to her advisor instead of hoppong in her kart straight away.

"Gloyd Orangeboar!"

"So who's this Cherriebomma racer?" Vanellope asked Sour Bill.

"Snowanna Rainbeau!"

"...I have no idea Madam President. Though it sounds familiar, like I've heard it before." The little sour ball pondered.

"Minty Zaki!"

"You got nothin'?"

"Swizzle Malarkey!"

"No ma'am. 15 years is a long time to have memories cooped up."

"Taffeyta Muttonfudge!"

"Weird, but understandable. I mean Turbutt stole my daddy's NPC avatar from my backstory and I only realized THAT yesterday." Vanellope shrugged.

"Crumbelina DiCaramello!"

"Yeah, it gets confusing to have all that data running loose in your mind." He sighed.

"Jubileena Bing-Bing!"

"It is kinda odd they didn't just compile the instant they were unlocked though." The Prez played with the licorice tie in her hair.

"Rancis Fluggerbutter!"

"Maybe it's not something the arcade version of the game fully allows. I do know there's other lands in game the players never see cuz of that." Bill suggested.

"Torvald Batterbutter!"

Vanellope pondered that for a bit. She knew that to be true. Most of the time, arcade and console versions of the same game had very little difference. Well it was mostly the ones less than 20 years old. Players could just get further access on a console because of extra time, saving content and the lack of play to play. Calhoun's game actually had 14 levels not including a boss level versus the Cybug Queen. There were really 3 other towers (with 3 levels each) with their own achievements that activated once you got the first medal. The players hardly see it because the 3 levels that get you to the top of that one tower take forever to finish. The furthest one kid got was level 7 beating two towers but eating it on the ground floor of the third. She did however unlock of Tamara's mentor, Sergeant Major Havok, who could now randomly take her place and give her a break now and again. And also that he tough as nails persona was fudging hereditary. Turns out Calhoun's mama never took her husband's name but did give it to her daughter. Boy was Felix justifiably terrified of his mother in law.

Unlockables weren't unknown. And the daily resets didn't really affect them...

"Sticky Wipplesnit!"

"That's just it Bill. Other games don't have that issue. That Mama Havok is still kickin around in Hero's Duty for crimeny's sake!"

"Adorabeezle Winterpop!"

"I really wish I knew what to tell you ma'am."

"Citrusella Flugpucker!"

"It's not your fault. Everyone's head is still kinda screwy after all." She sighed.

"Nougetsia Brumblestain!"

"Well it might not be what we think, after all unlockable content varies. Not even sure if it's a racer or a new track or-"

"Cherriebomma!"

Silence as everyone turned to see who's coin activated the name. Standing beside the entry pedestal was a mortified Candlehead. She looked around frantically hoping there was someone behind her. That she hadn't been late and therefore the last to enter. No such luck.

Blue lines of code encircled her and her kart on the track. Wrapping her in a cocoon of light that pulsed wildly. Once it died down she wasn't by the entry cup. And the Ice Screamer wasn't at start position. Instead a fire engine red motorcycle sat in it's place. The body looked to be fashioned out of licorice. The wheels were actually perfectly spherical black cherries. The dual exahuats were patterned like pixie sticks but could easily be candles. Mounted on it was a new racer who's face was obscured by a black and red helmet, a long fuse hanging down and to the side that curved up at the tip. They wore a red and white leather jacket with black gloves and pants.

"What the frosting?!" Taffeyta exclaimed, furious that her best friend was now missing. "Where's Candlehead?!"

"She's around Pinkie. Hows about you shut up and drive?" Was the muffled, feminine response. The starter lights turned green and she was off like a shot. For a good while no one moved, loosing precious nanoseconds.

"Come on. We can't get answers sittin around!" Vanellope yelled flooring the Candy Kart.

Turns out they wasted too much time to actually beat her. All anyone ever saw the whole race was her dust. The next day's 9 avatars were:

Cherriebomma

Vanellope von Schweetz

Taffeyta Muttonfudge

Adorabeezle Winterpop

Gloyd Orangeboar

Crumbelina DiCaramello

Rancis Fluggerbutter

Swizzle Malarky

Citrusella Flugpucker (who was pleased as punch to finallly be on the roster agian after almost a month, whatever the circumstance)

"Alright who are you and how come you got a motorcycle?" President von Schweetz demanded.

"Name's Cherriebomma. My sweet ride is Licorice Whip. I finally get to race." Her voice was still muffled from the helmet.

"Yeah yeah where's Candlehead!?" Taffeyta yelled.

"Cool our jets Pinkie." She laughed removing the headgear.

"Um, anybody else confused right now?" Swizzle mumbled.

Cherriebomma looked like a recolor of Candlehead with flame red hair and eyes. Resting her helmet on her seat, she smiled at her fellow racers. Delighting in their flabbergasted stares.

"Wait...you're Candlehead?" Gloyd blinked.

"Not really. At least I don't think so. She's sleeping I guess? I don't know how to explained it but we are NOT the same person." She shrugged. "Now n laters!"

And that was that. She hopped on her bike and rode away to do who knows what. Still the mystery remained: did unlocking new characters replace others?

Cherrie got picked a few time the next day by curious gamers before the boy that unlocked her showed up. It was Saturday so they expected him to be there a while. He put in his first quarter and they all waited anxiously as he scrolled around with the steering wheel. He pressed the accelerator once he got to Gloyd.

/Oh great. I'm gonna disappear next./

The only suprise is how many races he has to win in order to do anything new. At the finish of race 13, the player whipped the Kernel around, threw it in reverse and crossed the line backwards in first place.

"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE UNLOCKED APPLEJACK O'LANTERN!"

Fudge.

That night, Gloyd was hesitant about the random roster. He didn't want to disappear. Cherrie wasn't as sweet as Candlehead but she was still pretty cool. The new cherry racer got along great with Swizzle (someone who didn't even like the birthday cake girl she replaced) as both were smart asses. Heck, he even like her but that was mainly because Taffeyta despised "the imposter". The fact that Cherrie seemed just as clueless about where the other girl was did nothing to ease his fears.

He stood by the stands watching everyone pay to play.

"You comin or what pumpkin head?" Rancis called.

"Shut up pretty boy!" Vanny blew a raspberry. With an understanding look, she sighed at Gloyd. "Look, I don't get it either but what if that kid tells Litwak the game's busted cuz you didn't enter the random roster? He'll be here tomorrow."

"I know I'm just...what if Candlehead's gone for good? I'll go poof too!" He groaned.

/Whatever./ He marched up to the cup with his coin scowling all the way. /Betcha she wouldn't be so quick if was her. Well Sugar Rush, so long. Say hello to-/

"Gloyd Orangeboar!"

"That's not fair!" Muttonfudge shrieked.

"Shut up and drive Pinkie." He quipped as the lights shifted from red to yellow to green.

Vanellope didn't even wait for the roster board to compile before she lept out her her still moving kart.

""You're in charge Bill!" With that she vanished into Game Central Station.

"Where's the fire shortstack?"

"Sorry Mr. Bison!" She didn't even slow down after bouncing off the bad guy.

"Kids." He huffed watching her dash into DDR ignoring the SurgeProtector.

"Yuni!Yuni!Yuni!"

"Whoa there kiddo what's up?" The dancer laughed.

So, she began her explanation of the last two days. The new gamer, the swapping of Candlehead for Cherriebomma and how Gloyd didn't swap with Applejack O'Lantern.

"Well it seems the Randomizer really is random. Unlocking a character doesn't always make them instantly playable I guess." Yuni said. "I've never heard of it but I guess it's possible. I don't think any of you have to worry about vanishing into the void though. Programmer knows getting rid of popular characters for good would be pretty dumb."

"Thanks."

Ralph and Felix said the same thing. They never heard of it but it must be possible. But it was Tamara that shed a little more light on the situation.

"Turbo locked up those attributes for a reason. Maybe he wanted to make sure nothing ever changed with his subject to make it easier to lord over them but why? There's something really odd about this. I don't think it's bad...just odd. That virus didn't stay on top of that game so long being careless."

Okay...now she had more questions. Awesome. Still, Calhoun had a real good point. Why would Turbutt lock them up if they were swaps outs not extra bodies?

The next day was interesting. There wasn't just one unlockable Travis (Mr. Litwak had called him that when he handed him a roll of quarters) managed.

"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE UNLOCKED POPROXIE COLA!" Was announced when Taffeyta got every power up one race.

"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE UNLOCKED ROCHER DU REESE!"Was announced when Rancis took a shortcut thru Diet Cola Mountain.

"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE UNLOCKED ASTROTWINKLE STARGLAZER!" Happened when Swizz came in 4th, 3rd, 2nd then 1st all in a row.

That Roster Race Cherriebomma tossed her coin in.

"CandleHead!" Called the Race Board.

"What? What's everybody lookin at?" She blinked. In the confusion, no one noticed the Licorice Whip convert back into the Ice Screamer.

"Uh, nothin." Rancis brushed past her to enter.

"Rancis Fluggerbutter!"

"Phew." The resident Pretty Boy clutched his chest before walking off.

"Let's go two for two..." Gloyd pleaded.

"AppleJack O'Lantern!"

"Fudg-"

In his place stood a rather...menacing looking recolor clad in black and orange after the light show. His brown hair now jet black but his outfit didn't really change much other than color scheme and his hat turning into a melting caramel apple with the stick off to the side like the one in Snowanna's fro. The Kernel warped into a jack o'lantern themed hot rod with spooky faces on the cookie tires and an exposed engine shaped like a jack o lantern that shot flames from it's eyes mouth and top when he revved it. The body made of dark chocolate in a slightly disturbing shape: a casket with marshmallow lining.

"Hey." Jubilieena waved as he got into his kart beside her. "Good luck."

"Meh." He replied.

AppleJack and the Hershula came in 1st but how he did it opened a whole new can of worms. Two cars behind the leader as they approached the stands, he passed a sugar cube and began to cackle. Suddenly the KitKart was behind Jubileena...in fourth place!

"How the heck did you do that?! I was in first place!" Raged Rancis throwing down his helmet.

"Trick for you, treat for me. Beat it." He gave a creepy grin that made the blond's skin crawl. It revealed the other version of his best buddy had fangs. Taking a step forward made the other boy instinctively take one back.

"That's not fair! You cheated." BingBing sided with her friend.

"How? Von Schweets can do stuff too."

He had them there.

"Guys...I think Turbo messed with our game more than we first thought. I remember more about it it now." Vanny took off her goggles. "I'm not special. We ALL have abilities."

"Huh?"

"That's why he locked up the alteregos. Once released, both versions have access to their powers. I think the recolors were him trying to experiment with releasing them or dealing with the data overflow. After Travis unlocks everything, we'll be back to how the game should be."

Wow. Just...wow.

The arcade was closed on Mondays. So that gave them plenty of time to practice. And anticipate Travis' return.

*GITC*

I may come back to this. I have lots of ideas but I also other stories going on. This was yet another plot bunnie; this one from rewatching Wreck It Ralph.

So far I only have the powers for the alter's introduced this time:

Gloyd Orangeboar driving The Kernel = Applejack O'lantern driving Hershula who can switch places with other racers at will (not the same as Vanellope's Glitch).

Swizzle Malarky driving the Tongue Twister= Astrotwinkle Starglaze driving Shooting Starburst who's able to create bursts of light to blind other racers.

Taffyta Muttonfudge driving Pink Lightening = Poproxie Cola driving the Coke Bottlerocket who can liquify parts of the track and create traps.

Rancis Fluggerbutter driving the KitKart = Rocher du Reese driving the Rocky Roadster who can alter the terrain of the track and create obstacles.

Candlehead driving the Ice Screamer = Cherriebomma driving the Licorice Whip who can set off explosions without the cherry bombs on Layer Cake Hill.

What do you think? Should I continue? Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out!"


	2. Random Racing Rabble Round 1

Yep, I came back. This chapter helps unravel the mystery further and introduce new racers.

AN: I was asked why an OC not Moppet girl was the one to unlock stuff. That that angle seemed Gary Stu-ish. Well for starters, what we see of her in the movie doesn't say she's all that great a gamer. The fact that she's never seen Fix-It Felix Jr OR Sugar Rush in the arcade before suggests to me she isn't there too often or new to the arcade scene in general. So having an OC for that reason makes perfect sense. To me anyhow.

*GITC*

Monday was...well...

Applejack scared the bejesus out of everyone he came in contact with and it wasn't always intentional. His dark, gothic palette scheme looked horribly out of place in their colorful candy land for starters. Gloyd's Halloween theme had at least been bright and cheery. That constant creepy smile didn't help either.

Then there was him just...up and vanishing on a regular basis. Gone for hours at a time. At first everyone thought he was in Gloyd's pumpkin house but the door was locked and all the lights off. Sticky discovered his home was actually shaped like a jack o'lantern near the candy cane forest. Still, he didn't spend much time there. SurgeProtector insisted the only ones to leave the game were a few candy citizens, Snowanna, Candlehead and Vanellope herself. So he was lurking around much to Fluggerbutter's dismay.

O'lantern didn't really seem hostile towards anyone but Rancis. The peanut butter boy was terrified of Gloyds alter; the fact that Applejack friggin hissed and bared his fangs at him any time they got too close to each other was a good reason for said terror. The blonde spent more time using his mirrors to check behind him than preening.

"What are you such a booger face to Rancis?" The Prez had had it. She tracked him down to the taffy swamp where he was working on Hershula. "Don't you care that you're scaring him or are you doing it on purpose?!"

For once, he didn't sneer. He did roll his eyes and sigh though. Wiping his hands on an oil rag, he walked to her side of the kart.

"He's...wrong. I don't know why but he makes my skin crawl every time he gets near me. My reaction's automatic. I cannot help it, I swear."

"Hn...okay so this where you've been hiding?"

"No."

"You ARE pretty antisocial though. You never want to play. Do not like us or somethin? We don't bite, gadoi." She tried to lighten the mood.

"No. But I do." Before the Prez could respond, pixie stix dirt was kicked up and She was looking at Hershula's tail lights fading away.

Oookay...

Tuesday, things got weird. Well weirder.

Travis most likely wouldn't come in until after 4, when most school kids were free. Business is slow until 2pm most of the school week. So, nobody expected much action till then. And there wasn't. Until no one could find Rancis.

"QUARTER ALERT. QUARTER ALERT. ALL RACERS TO START POSITION."

Two guys on break from the Bettaburger across the street sat down. Jim and Andy never stopped killing time here even after finishing school.

"Finally! Somebody unlocked my racer!" Jim chuckled. "Been trying to get Applejack on this console since junior year."

"Litwaks' always been kinda funny with some of the games man. Princess Vanellope just showed up here and she's a main character." Andy sipped his soda. "Instead it had King Candy for years and he don't exist in any version as a playable character. The other tracks weren't here last week either. Guess arcade modes come with all sorts of differences. "

"Yeah but the same codes to unlock new players is the same on all of em, the arcade the town over has all...what 20 something racers. And why are some of the karts copies?"

Inside the console everyone was listening to the conversation a bit confused, wondering what they meant by copies and tracks. Except for Jubileena looked ready to snap. Everybody knew she had a crush on the blonde so him vanishing scared her senseless. Ignoring the player chatter, she stormed up to Hershula

"WHERE IS HE YOU FREAK!?" She yelled poking Applejack feverishly. The cherry pie girl apparently too upset to care how scary he was. Steam was coming outta her ears.

"How should I know? He runs FROM me remember, you twit? I ain't seen pretty boy since the arcade opened!" With a shove, Bing Bing was on her molasses as he stalked by. Still enraged she got up and Still angry, she stomped off the track to sit in the stands. It wasn't uncommon for nonparticipants to do so but more often than not they had other activities or tasks to complete. Minty and her sisters were in the junkyard looking for materials for an art project. Citrusella didn't even get out of bed clearly upset at coming in dead last in Sunday's Roster Race, even screaming at her sister to go away before the red head even rang the doorbell. Nougestina could usually be found chasing Buttercreamflies on her days off.

Everyone sat nervously in their karts hoping the players didn't notice the peanut butter racer was missing. There was no time to find him, only pray to programmer things would be okay.

"PLAYER 1 APPLEJACK O'LANTERN!"

"PLAYER 2 ROCHER DU REESE!"

Wha? That's Rancis' alter!

Over the blinking red NO SHOW X a new kart appeared. A sleek chocolate body dotted with nut pieces. A gold racing stripe down the middle fashioned out of a wrapper. The wheels looked like hazelnuts partially covered in the same gold foil. The driver wore a white scarf, dark brown helmet with the same stripe, and a light brown jacket that looked like it belonged on a military pilot from the 40s.

Nobody had time to ponder this much before the scenery changed from the regular race track to one in the middle of the licorice fields. Everything from the fans the jumbotron, start banner and the marshmallow crew men stayed in the same relative places just on this new track. Off in the distance, they could see buildings of some kind.

"TWIZZLER TOWN MOTOR SPEEDWAY SELECTED."

All the racers' eyes glazed over like they had at the reset. Knowledge of this previously unknown area downloading into their codes. Suddenly recalling the new edition was called The Rocky Roadster.

"Aw man! I hate this track!" Swizzle moaned. "I'm gonna lose!"

And he was probably right. Most of the race would take place in Twizzler Town and the city was full of hairpin turns, narrow winding streets and and hardly any jumps. The Tongue Twister was just too long to maneuver very well here. Adorabeezle and Nougetsia (if she were racing today) were in the same boat. Taffeyta's saving grace being her cart had all four wheels set wider to hug the road and Pink Lightning was a little shorter than the Ice Rocket but still longer than some of the others.

Awesome.

The lights turned green and off they went. Most uncertain how they'd fare even though they 'knew' the course.

Things weren't as bad as Malarky thought though. Oh no, they were way worse. Rounding the Cherry Soda fountain in the town center he leaned in too hard trying to avoid a flip and his steering column pretty much exploded on his face. While this had happened once or twice to him before under King Kooky, never had he caused the devastation that followed.

Unable to swerve in time the FroCone plowed into his side flinging its startled driver into the drink. Landing head first Snowanna sank like a jawbreaker before respawning draped the fountain edge down for the count.

Crumbelina managed to avoid the wreck but not the debris tearing off her her left tires on the process. The ensuing sparks and friction set off a chain reaction causing the Tiramissle to fly apart, igniting the fuel leaking from the FroCone and starting another explosion that engulfed her, Swizzle and poor Adorabeezle in the resulting fireball. The three of them respawned but their karts would stay a mess until the game was over.

It might be worth mentioning that Winterpop had avoided the the whole mess by passing the fountain two spots ahead of Swizzle. Player 1 (as Applejack) switched places with her right before the fire reached him. She never had a chance.

"Sweet mother of monkey milk!" Vanellope exclaimed looking in her rearview at the mushroom cloud at the base of the steep slope as she ascended. Her internal map and position relay told her that one wreck, four karts were outta the race. She and Taffeyta were trading 1st and 2nd with player 2 (Rocher) in 3rd, player 1 (Applejack) a close forth and Candlehead trailing in 5th.

"Sorry man, but you're goin down." Andy activated Rocher's special power. The ground shook before 2x4 length jagged blocks rose from the cookie cobblestone road behind him at alternating intervals..

"Eeek!" Candlehead screamed. She maneuvered around them clumsily but cleared them none the less. Too bad Jim activated Applejack's power again and Vanellope (who had no idea exactly what was happening just behind her), unprepared for the obstacles that were suddenly there, ended up rolling her kart end over end downhill and clipped the Ice Screamer on the way down. Only pulling in instead of swerving wildly saved the her from wiping out totally after the Prez went hurdling past her.

"Holy moly!" She gasped trying to keep her heart from leaping out of her chest. Races were always dangerous by design but that was frightening. The President's 'glitch' could startle but didn't actually place anyone in danger as they all knew to expect it. No one expected to be shifted out of space and time all together by her like with O'lantern. And certainly the random appearance of obstacles that weren't part of the track would do damage to anybody no matter how good they were.

The normally airy racer had a profound realization. Turbo probably locked up their powers because he had none. Getting rid of them destabilized the game so he had to lock away parts of it. But couldn't do it to everything. If he could nobody would have known Vanny existed as princess OR a glitch.

She knew Vanellope was 'dead' but could see the dim light of recompilation under the broken Candy Kart. Still she was burning mad. So much so that she and her kart burst into flames. She didn't exactly notice it over the sound of Taffeyta screaming. Instead she punched it leaving burning tire marks in her wake.

The final stretch was a blur to her. All she was sure of was she got the trophy while Andy and Jim dashed out the arcade to get back to work.

"What the fudge was that?!" Taffeyta awed. "You looked like an atomic fireball Candlehead."

"I dunno..."

"I wanna know how that alter got loose without the random roster." Jubileena came outta the crowd. Together the three of them watched Rocher remove his helmet. His hair was much longer and the same white as his scarf. Not platinum blonde like Taffy but marshmallow white. His eyes were kinda pinkish red and his skin tone was light peach.

Applejack came up to him and the two just stared at each other until Rocher looked away and huffed. The halloween racer chuckled and grabbed his arm pulling him along to who knows where.

"Everybody calm down. I talked it over with Bill and he agrees with me. The swapouts aren't supposed to be swap outs. Just like us, they have their own houses, karts and personalities. Those two guys said this game has over 20 racers which means at some point, all the swapouts were separate from the racer that unlocks them. Rocher showing up like that proves it. Turbutt must have shut down anything that could give others an edge over him, including alternate tracks." Von Schweetz gathered those who stayed off track to share her findings. "We each have a raceway that follows our theme too. Sugar Rush Speedway is mine. That last one has to be Cherriebomma's."

"He couldn't delete them so he just disabled them. So why didn't he fully disable you? Uh, no offense." Snowanna asked. She winced at the tone of her own question.

"You got me there Snow." She sighed.

"Cuz she's the main character and her track is the first one in the game." The resident ditz said quietly. "He could never fully replace her code with his own without too badly warping the game so that was his only option. She still had to exist or Sugar Rush would have been unplugged. He tricked us into being sourpatch kids so he could make sure the game never reset correctly and booted him out."

They weren't sure what was more amazing. That their former king was even more of a sleaze than they thought or that Candlehead of all people figured out something nobody else did.

Travis came at 5 something. But he took one look at Sugar Rush and instead went to Tapper's. Others ran a few races, each time something odd happened. Like Moppet Girl ("Her name is Wendy." Adorabeezle admonished.) choosing the arctic racer then a track called Iceerod Trail. Where everybody but her and Snowanna loudly complained about freezing their molasses off. Then there was the issue of snow and ice providing TERRIBLE traction with all the loop de loops, downhill stretches and accurately sticking jump landings.

She won (Snowanna being the only other one to even cross the finish) and activated an unlockable. Sorta.

"CONGTATULATIONS! YOU'VE UNLOCKED NOUGESTA BRAMBLESTAIN!"

"How can you unlock a recolor?" Wendy shrugged. Noticing her coin cup was empty, she checked her watch before getting up to go.

Huh. Good Question.

Somewhere in the Jujyfruit Meadow, Adorabeezle's recolor dropped her jar of buttercreamflies.

"What happened to my kart?!"

She didn't really name it but she liked her magenta rocket pop. It was now gone. In it's place sat a canoe shaped waffle cone. In the center a scoop of almond vanilla icecream chock full of pistachios and candied fruits fashioned into a seat and steering wheel where the cockpit was formed. The neatest thing was the fact that drizzled over the icecream in a zigzag pattern was raspberry sauce that pooled in the shell at both ends. The wheels were raspberries partially coated in cream.

"The Revberry Creamer. Hmm... I like it."

The next race had a noob picked Vanellope and a track called Old Fizziful Geyser. Set in a sweltering desert like area, the powdered sugar background was littered with holes that shot boiling soda jets high into the sky. Rock candy provided the track border. The constant booming was distracting but a few racers couldn't tell if this was any better than that twisty turny maze of hazards or the wintry-wonder-death-trap from earlier.

This player came in dead last to the Prez's embarrassment. There was something to distract from that though. Taffyta had swapped with her alter at some point (all the more strange because she HAD started normally) and won the race.

Clad in bright pink leotard partially covered by a turquoise half tee missing the entire left sleeve, tight denim jeans, turquoise and pink candy striped leg warmers and white sneakers covered in rainbow pop rocks Poproxie lept out of her kart cheering. Her wrists sported a half dozen bangles of all colors. Her loose curly blonde hair held back with a pink headband.

"Like, rad race guys! Totes fun."

The kids all tried to hide the guffaws threatening to escape. Candlehead slapped both hands on her mouth. Jubileena was turning blue from holding her breath. Applejack buried his face in Rocher's scarf while it's wearer gave a silent chuckle any way. Vanny had to run away and collapse in a fit of laughter behind the stands.

Big bad Taffy transformed into a Valley Girl! Oh it was comedy gold! She couldn't wait to tell the stuck up driver about it and see her face!

Lying there after her fit, she started to think seriously. Joking aside, Travis had done something more than just unlock players. Somehow, he'd coded the game to gradually fix itself over time. Like he knew exactly what had been done and how to undo it. Like he knew the program had been tampered with.

But that's impossible. Just gamer's luck.

Right?

*GITC*

The plot thickens. Why didn't Travis play? I'm sure you've worked out something really odd about Applejack too. Rocher had no problems with going off with him but the white haired boy doesn't talk either...

Okay I know you guys aren't slow but some of the names may require explaining as to how I came up with them. Especially since some things aren't internationally known.

Alter-racers

Cherriebomma - cherry + bomb + momma; cherry bombs are also a candy

Licorice Whip is a motorcycle with a cherry licorice theme

Applejack O'Lantern - apple (as in carmel coated) + jack o'lantern

Hershula is a chocolate dragster shaped like a casket with a halloween theme. A play on the words hearse, hershey and drag and dracula (or Dragula, the Munster's car and a Rob Zombie song named after it)

Rocher du Reese - ferrero rocher (chocolate coated hazelnut candies wrapped in gold foil) + Reese as in the peanut butter cups

The Rocky Roadster is actually shaped like a Roadster (google it) with hazelnut wheels. The body is made of the outer shell of the ferrero candy and the golden wrapper it comes in used as an accent.

Poproxie Cola - pop rocks and cola

Not yet shown but it's very simple: a classic coke bottle with bottle cap tires and steering wheel. Foam fizzes out of the bottle opening in the back when she drives it. The bottle is also covered in pink pop rocks like it's been bedazzled

Astrotwinkle Starglaze - astro (type of tricolor lollipop shaped like a cone) + twinkle (those sparkly lollipops), star (something that shines) + glazer (sugar coating)

Not yet shown the Shooting Starburst is wedge shaped, built out of blocks the five classic starburst colors but the edges are smoothed in some places to make it aerodynamic. The tires are made of round red twinkle pops.

Tracks

Twizzler Town Motor Speedway - Twizzlers licorice of course. But this is also Cherriebomma's favorite track; from it's description, you can tell it's better for two wheeled racing. The cherry soda fountain was a clue too n_n

Iceerod Trail - Icee slush drink + Iditarod dog sled race in Alaska; Adoorabeezle's track. Her winning on it originally unlocks Nougesta but this time freed her correct kart instead.

Old Fizziful Geyser - Old Faithful but set in the desert instead of a forest (that's another track to come). As Poproxie's track, it erupts like mixing the treats in her name.

New Kart

Nougesta Bramblestain now drives Revberry Creamer (rev + raspberry + ice cream) - it's designed to resemble Frozen Nougatine a french ice cream dish. When she was 'unlocked' only her cart changed, reverting back to it's original design.

Random Candies

Jujyfruit are gummy fruit shaped candies

Buttercreamflies are from the very light whipped buttercream frosting.

Well? Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out!


	3. Powdered Sugar Keg

Hi. Again.

This chapter takes place mostly outside of Sugar Rush. Mama Havok gets some screen time when two people whom should probably never meet do (much to the Hero's Duty Crew's chagrin), Vanny searches for answers and the alters are set loose on Game Central Station.

Programmer help them all.

Mixing game terminology with real world curse words and such folks.

*GITC*

Everybody knew if here was a question about hidden content, the you asked either Yuni, Mario or most recently, Dorian. Vanellope decided on Dorian because his game was from the same company. Yuni had helped a little already. Nothing against Mario but sometimes he was hard to understand.

Dorian's game, Fallen Angel's Requiem, was a massive rpg like game where you played as Dorian, a demon who comes to earth because of his love for a human woman. She is kidnapped by a mysterious organization that wants Dorian's DNA for experimentation. You spend the game fighting these goons, other demons drawn to Heather because of you, and even angels.

When plugged in sometime before Sugar Rush, the denizens initially kept to themselves. Not at all fond of the black and white separation culture, they weren't thrilled about being part of it. Only after Turbo was exposed did they really do more than just occasionally venture out. For years rumors buzzed that Dorian was real the villain. So talking to him was at one's one's own risk.

Turns out that though really great friends, their programming as lovers is just a role to Dorian and Heather. She had an on again off again thing with one of the level bosses, an angel named Razeon and the hero himself remained a bachelor. That aside, their game was so massive it let players save their progress on USB drives that plugged into a port by the quarter slot. The Arcade denizens learned that feature was phased out of later consoles because of more successful home console game sales. Still it remained so popular among older gamers at Litwak's that he sold drives at the front desk.

Still, Vanellope had never been inside his game. And he himself still wasn't big on coming out after hours. You wanted to talk, you had to come to him. The fudging hermit thing did not help popular opinion of him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of royalty's presence in my humble home?" The demon's deep gravely voice came from somewhere inside the dark three story house.

"Jeeze you scared me!" She squeaked trying to settle her heart rate and clutching the door handle for dear life.

"Well it's not good manners to just wander into someone's home child."

"Well who just leaves their door open like that?" She snarked back.

"One with little to fear. How can I help you Princess?" The speaker emerged and she couldn't help but blush. The graphics artist had been influenced by Japanese animation giving the hero a soft androgynous beauty and a well toned body that belied his inhuman strength and powers. Dressed in a white bathrobe, his long purple hair was damp and leaving a puddle at his feet.

"It's President but I uh ...could come back. I mean you were busy-"

"Don't worry, I sensed you as I got out of the shower and felt it best I meet you at the door rather than Nyx mauling you once you came too far inside." He chuckled as she paled. "I'm kidding. Outside of game play, that panther is as lazy as a house cat. How can I help you madam president?"

She explained on as much detail as she could what had gone on the last few days and he patiently listened. Somewhat amused by her animated recounting of events. After a while, Nyx slinked out of the back to investigate the unending chatter. Satisfied everything was legit and her master upgraded this bite sized intruder to guest, she laid her head on his lap and purred like a motorbike.

"It's just so insane we can't keep up! I mean if we knew WHAT to expect it would be a whole other bag of candy but Applejack's and his powers are creepy, Poproxie's a bigger ditz than Candlehead, Rocher is TOO quiet, that Astrotwinkle is violent as all h-e-double-hockeysticks. not to mention totally incomprehensible... Cherriebomma's cool I guess though but-"

"How do you deal? Well you're right about the strangeness of your situation. The reset should have put things right and I've never heard of unlocked characters taking the place of others unless the scenario changes requiring their skill or the player chooses to switch. Turbo had gone onto the code to rewrite it...tell me do these swaps have a cheering section?"

"Huh. Yeah. Come to think of it the recolors never have...except for Nougesta but only after Mop- I mean Wendy unlocked her the other day. Her kart's different too..."

Ghost shaped sugar cookies cheered for Hershula. Tiny bottles of soda for Poproxie. Chocolate dipped hazelnuts filled the stands for Rocher. Starbursts waved Astro's banner and licorice sticks went crazy for Cherriebomma. Then a new stand materialized full of cream dipped raspberries the same day the Revberry Creamer was unlocked.

"You don't unlock recolors. Especially ones that were already playable. They are unfortunately the product of lazy programming to fill a character quota. The recolors and their originals have always thought of each other as siblings yes?"

"Yup."

"Just as you always knew you were meant to race even as a supposed glitch, they've probably always known they were really related not recolors. It seems the damage done as King Candy started as the equivalent to a simple rewriting of code but morphed in a virus of sorts over time. I believe this Travis knew how to create an anti viral though how he did so by just playing eludes me given the extent of the repair needed. Sorry I can't be of more help."

"Well you told me loads more than I knew before. Thanks Mr Dorian!" She hopped up and hugged him. "You're not so scary!"

.

"Thank you. Anytime child. My door is always open." He called after her as she bounded off. "Such a sweet child."

Once he closed the door he turned to see Nyx pointedly staring at him.

"Yes, yes I know she won't respawn if I devour her. Which is why I didn't." He rolled his eyes.

/Pardon me for worrying about your impulse control when you're tired... and hungry./ Her responding chuff seemed to say.

"Yes well the little shit next door who found polka music appropriate on full blast at 4am is another story. He's since learned."

*GITC*

It didn't take long for word to travel all over the arcade about the strangeness in Sugar Rush. Mostly because like everybody else, the citizens and racers freely moved about when the arcade was closed. And like everybody else, a few dabbled in gossip. But "the incident" at Tappers is what really got everybody talking. What incident? A-hem.

The arcade closed, freeing all the characters up for the night as usual. Nothing outta the ordinary happened at first. At around 11pm, the crew from Hero's Duty had a new respect for their Sargeant's superior officer. Or fear, one of the two. To be honest, it's not like she really cared which one. Shut up, do what you're told and you were good in her book.

"Man up Sanderson! York!" Major Sergeant Jeanette Gloria Havok barked followed by an unladylike belch for the records. "Is this your A game?!"

"...mrxplq..." The only sound York could make was a drunken gurgling face down in his spilled drink. Sanderson sank under the table about thirty minutes ago after blowing chunks all over the booth sold root beer during game hours and everything including the "kitchen sink" once the doors closed.

"The few, the proud my bitmap. Estrogen ain't the only thing you pansies are drownin in now is it?" She smirked before downing the rest her mug in a few gulps. "Motor mouths drive dipsticks inta the ground everytime"

*Four hours ago*

"Man, I thought Calhoun was a ball buster. Mama Havok's worse." York groused. Tapper served his real beer with lighter color and a thick head; the marine already finished one cold one before that.

Mama Havok, a nickname only whispered among the ranks, had been given to the unlocked leader after learning that she was their commander's mother. A more mature version of Calhoun, they were easy to tell apart by their stripes in uniform and the subtle fine lines around her eyes and touch of gray in her pixie cut blonde hair with helmets off. Her voice carrying a misplaced drawl also happened to be a touch deeper. Her programming came with the back story of coming to the overrun alien world to look in on her Tammy's unit once she heard what happened to her fiance. Her character got locked in the second tower making sure all the personnel made it to safety. A highly decorated two decades in the service made her tough as steel and she raised her baby girl to be just like her.

So now there were two of them.

Goodie...

Goodie...

Gumdrops...

Considering the only thing that woman would likely be knitting for any potential grandchildren is pint sized armor using the exoskeletons of cybugs she personally dismembered, nobody ever called her Mama to her face.

"I'll say. We're drowned in a digital sea of estrogen. Programmer tried to hard with those two." Sanderson scoffed.

"What our game needs is a real man in charge. Players might get further and fewer of us would get munched each level." The other soldier laughed.

"I'll drink to that!" They toasted with a laugh.

"When you dead weights find one, tell him to come see me. He can shine my boots after he gets done pickin his teeth outta the treads." Swear to gamer, she was NOT behind him a second ago.

The fact that Kohut and Markowski had been scooting away from the two of them at the bar should have been a freaking clue.

"So, I guess I should just sit back and let a big strong man take care of little ol me. Bullroar. I gots more testosterone in my left ass cheek than you gots in yer whole body."

And so began their attempt to put away more alcohol than the Major Sergeant after an ill conceived bet made while already drunk off their asses. At some point Colonel Guile from Street Fighter 2 had joined in. Only to graciously bow out having realized the older woman could drink like a fish...and literally drank one man under the table already. On his way to the Station, he must have staggered into someone.

"Move i'!"

"Wha?"

"Gah! Move i' ye big bruisa!" Shouted a young, strangely accented voice from the entrance. There was the sound of a scuffle, a flash like a frickin supernova, a surprised yelp then a loud thud.

Great. Guile got plastered and beat up some little kid on his way out. Cammy was gonna cannon drill him onto next week for that. Wait, his sonic booms usually made a loud...boom after the flash. Hence the name. That was more of a body hitting tile noise so...

"Bleedin mea' 'ead."

Around four feet tall, not counting his neon orange spiked hair, a boy no one had ever seen stomped into Tapper's. His skin a healthy bronze; left eye yellow, the right one red with a large pink star (Birthmark? Tattoo?) covering a large portion of his face on that side. His outfit clearly said 'I fell into the discard pile of a Levi factory then got lost on a paintball range' for all the rips, frayed edges and wear marks in his vest and jeans decorated with studs, patches and zippers. They and the white tee underneath were splattered hues of red, pink, yellow and orange.

"Ey ya got a bi' a clean up ow fron'. Bi' a bull and cow feh. "

"Um... what did you say young man?" Tapper blinked, as utterly confused as the rest of the bar.

"Fa'got no one seems ta unda'an me. Bovva re'ly. The guy didn' move when I tol 'em so I moved 'em."

"Wait, drunk or no, pipsueak like you not take out Guile." Zangief blurted out.

"Use ya loaf lug nu'. Tipsy lun's ease to tip ov'a. Blindin' 'em wi'h me Sta'bur'sa cer'inly didn' 'ur' eva."

"Shown up by a brat. What's yer name kiddo?" Havok smirked.

"Name's Astro ma'am. Fought I'd pop ou'a Sugar Rush and see wha's wha'. Pleased to ma'e my aquain'ence yeah?"

"Oh ho! I like you skittles. Tammy always wanted a lil brother." she laughed heartily sliding him a mug of root beer. "My treat."

""Migh'y kinda o' you. I fink we'e gon'na ge' alon' jus' fine."

If anyone heard Markoski banging his head on the bar counter, they didn't acknowledge it.

All he could think about? That there's someone else for the them to be terrified of. And this one was too young to even drink.

*GITC*

My my Vanny's pretty brave. Or naive. Take your pick. Still her visit worked out.

Pity Markowski. Pity him much.

The inspiration for Astro's cockney is accent from my friend Robert, an East London native who came here "to ge' as bloo'y fa' f'om me mum as blee'in' possible wi'h onl' the 90 quid in me poc'e" (To get as bloody far from my mother as bleeding possible with only the 90 quid in my pocket. Which is about $145 bucks now). Turns out you can totally hitchhike across the Atlantic. It's been three years and I still don't know about a fourth of the stuff that comes out of his mouth n_n. Roald Dahl the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is from Wales but I've never heard much of that accent so I didn't use it. Why would I want to in the first place? Well, Swizzle's skin and hair design is based on the oompa loompas from the first cinema adaptation.

Shut up. By now you know how my mind works.

Translations:

"Move i'!" Move it!

"Gah! Move i' ye big bruisa!" Gah! Move it you big bruiser!

"Bleedin mea' 'ead." Bleeding (damned/fucking) meathead.

"Ey ya got a bi' a clean up ow fron'. Bi' a bull and cow fehr " Hey, you got a clean up out front. Bit of a bull and cow there. (Bit of a fight there)

"Fa'got no one seems ta unda'an me. Bovva re'ly. The guy didn' move when I tol 'em so I moved 'em." Forgot no one seems to understand me. Bother really. The guy didn't move when I told him so I moved him.

"Use ya loaf lug nu'. Tipsy lun's ease to tip ov'a. Blindin' 'em wi'h me Sta'bur'sa cer'inly didn' 'ur' eva." Use your loaf (Use your head) n lugnut. Tipsy lunk's easy to tip over. Blinding him with my Starburster didn't hurt either.

"Name's Astro ma'am. Fought I'd pop ou'a Sugar Rush and see wha's wha'. Pleased to ma'e my aquain'ence yeah?" Name's Astro ma'am. Thought I'd pop out of Sugar Rush and see what's what. Pleased to make my acquaintance, yeah?

""Migh'y kinda o' you. I fink we'e gon'na ge' alon' jus' fine." Mighty kind of you. I think we're going to get along just fine.

So what do you think so far? Anybody got a favorite new character? Lemme know. Reviews are like hugs. Sirensoundwave out.


	4. Random Racing Rabble Round 2

Thank you all for the positive reviews and the massive traffic stats. This chapter has a joke/reference built in that I know this movie's target demographic will not get but if you're at least 20, you might. All I'll say is think about the character it pertains to and I'll let you know next chapter. My cousin didn't get it until she read it out loud. Feel free to guess in tne comment/review section n_n

Travis returns, we meet a game character only briefly mentioned before, explore a new track and learn something unsettling about a certain racer's' powers.

So we're all on the same page this will appear as the start of every new chapter with more and more filled in as it's revealed:

Turbo did something more than locking away memories and trying to delete Vanellope but nobody is sure just what he did. So far, we know there's several racers locked away...inside the code of other racers. There's also actually one theme track for each racer; Sugar Rush Raceway is the first in the game so King Kooky couldn't do much to it.

Vanellope vonSchweetz- The Candy Kart

Power: Teleporting (glitching)

Track: Sugar Rush Raceway

Alter:?

Track: ?

Candlehead- The Ice Screamer

Power: Fire abilities

Track: ?

Alter: Cherriebomma- The Licorice Whip (a motorcycle)

Power: Creates explosions

Track: Twizzler Town Motor Speedway

Gloyd Orangeboar- The Kernel

Power: ?

Track; ?

Alter: Applejack O'Lantern- Hershula

Power: Can swap places with anyone (or thing...)

Track: ?

Snowanna Rainbeau- FroCone

Power: ?

Alter:?

Track: ?

Swizzle Malarkey- The Tongue Twister

Power: ?

Track: ?  
>Alter: Astrotwinkle Starglazer- The Shooting Starburst<p>

Power: Blinding flashes of light called Starbursters

Track: ?

Taffeyta Muttonfudge- Pink Lightening

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: Poproxie Cola- The Coke Bottlerocket

Power: Can alter the track to create liquid traps

Track: Old Fizziful

Crumbelina DiCaramello- The Tira Missle

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: ?

Power?

Track: ?

Rancis Fluggerbutter- The Kit Kart

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: Rocher du Reese- The Rocky Roadster

Power: Can alter the track to create obstacles

Track: ?

We also know that the racers with copies don't have alters because these so called recolors are partially locked racers with unnamed copy karts. Unlocking them restores their karts and cheering section.

Minty Zaki- Veloci-Wrapper

Power-?

Track: ?

Torvald Batterbutter ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Sticky Wipplesnit ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Adorabeezle Winterpop- The Ice Rocket

Power: ?

Track: Iceerod Trail

Nougesta Brumblestain- Revberry Creamer (restored)

Power: ?

Track: ?

Jubileena Bing-Bing- The Cherriot

Power: ?

Track: ?

Citrusella Flugpucker- ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Got it? Good. Let's go.

*GITC*

The next time Travis actually played, was that Friday. This also happened to be the first time anyone noticed any sort of pattern to what the teen did. The major diffence from the other times would be they expected something kooky to happen and everybody had their own theory as to what the ultimate mystery was so they paid more attention.

It took him a while to select a racer. Like, a REALLY long time. He just lazily scrolled around with the wheel...while pumping the brake. After a good minute or two (well, children have a low patience level...) he suddenly spun the wheel counterclockwise, shifted gears then punched the accelerator.

"SNOWANNA RAINBEAU!" Next came the track. "RAINBOW MAZE!"

"Huh, guess that's my track." The snow cone racer shrugged reving her engine.

The kalidoscopice walls of the maze rose out of the ground before them and everyone immediately panicked. The maze had not one but three openings. Knowing how mazes worked, that meant that there was only one correct entry...right? To add to the confusion, they found themselves hopscotching around START until spaced out in three rows. Obviously there was no choice in where they went in. When GO flashed, off went Snowanna, Cherriebomma, Glyod, Astro, Sticky, Nougesta, Crumbelina, Minty and Jubileena. Vanellope chose to spend the day officating the races since she wasn't on the roster. But it put her in the unique position to see everything...

For starters the three gateways were only separate for (relatively) short distance. But that short ways could cost you precious time because a wrong turn meant you had to back up and try again. Then there was the meet up. Where everyone poured onto the same portion of open air track at irregular intervals.

"Oh Sprinkles!" Snowanna and Sticky both yelled. The two exited different tunnels at the same time. There odds of collison were very high...

"Brrr!" Sticky shivered, eyes closed. The cold senstation hit her when Snow should have. No impact occured though. "Wha?"

"What was that?!" Snowanna yelled. Somehow, she's passed through the other girl. Right before that happened, she felt Travis down shift and accelerate. Then she was on the otherside of her friend, both unharmed. "Haha! That must be my power! Alright T-man don't let mama down!" She cheered. Still she couldn't help resenting the fact that she didn't have that power their first run through Twizzler Town.

Speaking of that race, Cherriebomma showed her power for the first time. Astro had blinded the crud out of her last race for no other reason than he could and she ate it coming out of a tunnel (right where King Candy got munched). She was behind him for chrimeny sakes; they all knew he could do it to anyone one place ahead of or behind him no matter the distance but that wasn't even called for! As she approached this time, she nonchalantly exploded the left back tire of the Shooting Starburster...by blowing a kiss at him. A lit cherry bomb materialized and took him out.

"Now and laters love!" She cackled zooming by. Travis was too far away for the screen to register the litany of curse words Swiz's alter spat out after slamming into a wall.

The maze turned out to be a giant spiral with walls that slid on their own sealing off paths and opening new ones seemingly at random. It freaked Rainbeau out that he drove her full force at most of the walls only to phase her through them at the last second. Finally, she shot out into an unenclosed area, the same entrance she'd gone into, zooming across the finish.

"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU"VE UNLOCKED CHAILATA MARMAMOCHA!"

Huh. So...

Their powers could only be used for the first time once their alter was unlocked (like Candlehead's fire on Cherriebomma's track) or on their theme track. That explained why Vanny was the only one to have a power for so long. No one knew how to unlock the alters and Sugar Rush Raceway had been the only track available in the game for years. After the race, Snow announced that she realized the combo a player had to do to activate them. For whatever reason Travis had gotten up after Chailata was announced.

"I thought everybody knew that?" Vanellope scratched her head.

"Doi! Wendy had to have learned your 'glitch' by randomly playing with the gear shift. At the time, she was just a noob. I've felt it too since the reset when players pick me and they seem disappointed when nothing happens. This was the first time it did something!" Snowanna'e eyes lit up. "Wait a second..."

"Whag!" Minty flailed whens she cartwheeled right at her...only to harmlessly pass through. She shivered at the sensation as Sticky had. "Warning!"

"I knew it!" Vanny chuckled, sharing Snowanna's glee. "It makes sense that you guys could If I could."

"Fah' ain' new info swee'cheeks. I did i' 'a fah' drunk a' Tappa'a. Ya know, ou'side fha game?" Astro scoffed. (That ain't new info sweetcheeks. I did it to that drunk at Tapper's. Ya know outside the game?)

"Why are you such a sourball Astrotwinkle?!" Cherrie frowned.

"Fha ain' me name! I's Astro!" the punk shouted. (That ain't me name! It's Astro!)

"That's not what the board says Astro~TWIN~KLE." she sang pointing to to his 9th place finish. "Or maybe deadlast fits better."

"Uh, guys...maybe now's not the time..." Nougesta started.

"Call me fa' again an I'll bruise fem che'y lips o' you's!" he growled in response. (Call me that again and "ll bruise them cherry lips of yours!)

"Oh yeah? Hows about I-?!"

"QUARTER ALERT! QUARTER ALERT! ALL RACERS TO START."

The next few races weren't as exciting. But there were a few discoveries. Like the player could only activate a power so many times back to back without a break. Five to be exact. Then 15 seconds had to pass for five more to be done. Though as NPCs, this limit only reset after passing a power up. Still there were plenty of opportunities. Each race was about 5 minutes long and contained a minimum of 10 power ups. Some of which resembled their powers...

"Argh! That turbotastic fruit cake locked up our power inside the cubes!" Gloyd, normally easy going Gloyd, threw down his helmet angrier than a stirred up creamhornet nest. Last race, Sticky was able to do...something to a cinnamon log after hitting a power up called JUST DESERTS. The area around it rippled and then it fell down in front of her onto Candlecane Lane (Candlehead's track). She wrecked but so did he. "That's MY power! How many times have we used what's really ours thinking it was just good timing?!"

That last question was punctuated by the stand next to him rippling. A loud crack later, the section fell apart. Taffeyta's lolipop fans ran for it but the few that had been crushed in the collapse didn't respawn.

"Fudge." He groaned.

Good question. Up until the first unlock, the only power ups were sweet seekers, iceream cannon and cherry bombs. Now new ones had appeared randomly. Of all of them Cherry Bombs belonged to Cherriebomma, the Syrup Trap was Poproxie's and apparently Just Deserts was Gloyd's.

"You can have it!" What good is it to wreck your own kart?" Sticky grumbled, a bit embarrassed that she'd done it. Seriously though, how practical was that? Why would anyone want to have such a power?

"(sigh) You didn't know what you were doing Sticky calm down. Um, from what you guys tell me about Applejack, we're both kinda weird." He scratched his head before puting on his signature hat. "See, my power is a really a jinx. It causes bad luck. But you have to aim it or you'll just splatter yourself. And sometimes the damage doesn't fully repair before the next race." Several marshmallow crewmen rolled the log that didn't pop back into place once Astro won.

"That's why you haven't used it...you don't know how to control it..." Sticky covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I- I didn't know..."

"Yeah, I'm a freak. If Cherrie blew up somebody they're out of the race but fine once its over. I do it and they could be handicapped for who knows how long." He looked away from his friends then nervously at the horrified spectators. "Um...your friends'll regenerate...at some point. I think at least in my case locking up my powers was for the safety of everyone."

"Gloyd." Vanellope walked up to him, an uncharacteristically stern look on her face. "Nothing that kook did was for anyone's good. It was all to make sure he stayed on top. You could've definitely hurt him if your powers are strong enough to override programming. He wasn't thinking of anyone's safety but his own."

"But what do I do now? If I get mad or something, THAT happens." He pointed to the stands.

"Simple. We'll just find someone to teach you. I know just the guy to help."

"Who?"

"Mr. Dorian from Fallen Angel's Requiem."

"That scary demon dude?" That didn't sound so great to him.

"Righ' up yer alley then ma'e." (RIght up your alley then mate.) Astro sneered. Earning him a coating of frost that frozen him in place. Nougesta rocked on her heels, hand on her head, whistling like she hadn't a clue what just happened.

"Ah, silence." Cherrie giggled.

"I know right?" Crumbelina joined her.

*GITC*

On her free days (which hadn't been very often before the reset) Taffeyta spent her time exploring. Before, Candy didn't let them leave the game. Now, she was free to do so and took advantage of the day to explore. Though technically no one was supposed to be out during arcade hours, GS wasn't exactly deserted. Several FIFA Cup All Stars were playing a pickup soccer match while their game was upgraded. A few homeless characters and ones not essential to their games were around too.

She really didn't want to risk turning into Poproxie...that ditz could have her time when she was part of the roster race. Normally she'd be spelunking on Shortcake Bluff. Getting a feel for her track until somebody decided to pick it in a game. Doing so is how she found out about her power. Losing her footing but grabbing onto an outcropping strawberry 10 feet above her to save her skin when her climbing rope snapped. She was elastic! If she tucked herself into a ball she could bounce too though that probably wouldn't work in her kart. Super stretching is how she avoided the SurgeProtector who went back to his station when he couldn't see her hanging from the upper outlet panel.

"What are you doing here kid?"

"Sorry. Um..." she looked up at the leggy woman she'd walked into

"I'm Heather. Guess you got bored too." The brown haired woman supplied. She adjusted her glasses to look at her better. "You must be from that candy racing game, Dorian said your princess is adorable. Brave too. I'm sure everyone told her horror stories about him eating people."

"Dorian...from Fallen something...Oh, I'm Taffyta by the way. He doesn't then I'm guessing?"

"Well if you're not from our game you're fine." She waved off the nervous look the child gave her. "He's not gonna risk putting a game out of order for a snack. Regeneration's handy that way. Any ways I only show up in the very last few levels of my game. Anytime before that's just cut scenes and background mumbo jumbo. It's too early for anyone with the ability to get far shows up. Usually it's this kid named Max who comes in on Saturdays. Even still it's what noon?"

"So what do you do for fun?"

"How about I show you around?"

"Sure."

Neither female noticed they were being watched from the shadows.

*GITC*

Uh-oh... Looks like trouble's a-brewing...

Gloyd is my favorite sugar rush racer. Poor pumpkin head. Torturing him is fun n_n

The unlocked racer is inspired by the menu at a little cafe near my college that's since closed. Chai tea infuse marmalade smeared on slices of marble cake with a mocha latte is awesome! And yes there's definitely something between Cherri and Astro. Whether it's puppy love or pure loathing is yet to be determined. I decided his translations should happen right after he talks not the chapter's end.

Eventually, a previously locked play mode will appear and you'll see something cool about why who has what powers.

Lemme know whatcha think. Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out!


	5. Of Bad Luck and Bad Timing

This chapter deals with the 'watcher' and the rest of the fearless foursome reacting to the changes in Sugar Rush (those adorable kids are still cute but now wicked dangerous). Ralph puts one overgrown foot in his mouth leading to a bizarre encounter with one of the alters.

So we're all on the same page this will appear as the start of every new chapter with more and more filled in as it's revealed:

Turbo did something more than locking away memories and trying to delete Vanellope but nobody is sure just what he did. So far, we know there's several racers locked away...inside the code of other racers. There's also actually one theme track for each racer; Sugar Rush Raceway is the first in the game so King Kooky couldn't do much to it.

All their powers have limits during a race (5 times before a 15 sec recharge as PC, 5 times then must pass a power up as NPC to recharge)) but are almost unlimited any other time. Also, the power ups are really forms of their powers King Candy took advantage of so he could use them in races while the kids were basically sitting ducks.

Vanellope vonSchweetz- The Candy Kart

Power: Teleporting (glitching); SUGAR RUSH is her power up

Track: Sugar Rush Raceway

Alter:?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Candlehead- The Ice Screamer

Power: Fire abilities; SWEET SEEKERS are her power up

Track: Candlecane Lane

Alter: Cherriebomma- The Licorice Whip (a motorcycle)

Power: Creates explosions by blowing kisses that turninto cherry bombs; CHERRY BOMB is her power up

Track: Twizzler Town Motor Speedway

Gloyd Orangeboar- The Kernel

Power: Jinxes; JUST DESERTS is his power up; but something's off with him...

Track; ?

Alter: Applejack O'Lantern- Hershula

Power: Can swap places with anyone (or thing...); TRICKY TREAT is his power up

Track: ?

Snowanna Rainbeau- FroCone

Power: Phasing through things; SUGAR SLIDE is her power up

Power: ?

Track: ?

Swizzle Malarkey- The Tongue Twister

Power: ?

Track: ?  
>Alter: Astrotwinkle Starglazer- The Shooting Starburst<p>

Power: Blinding flashes of light called Starbursters; His power up is what he calls it STARBURSTERS

Track: ?

Taffeyta Muttonfudge- Pink Lightening

Power: Elasticity; TAFFY PULL is her power up

Track: Shortcake Bluff

Alter: Poproxie Cola- The Coke Bottlerocket

Power: Can alter the track to create liquid traps; her power up is SYRUP TRAP

Track: Old Fizziful

Crumbelina DiCaramello- The Tira Missle

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: ?

Power?

Track: ?

Rancis Fluggerbutter- The Kit Kart

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: Rocher du Reese- The Rocky Roadster

Power: Can alter the track to create obstacles; His power up is COOKIE CLUSTER

Track: ?

We also know that the racers with copies don't have alters because these so called recolors are partially locked racers with unnamed copy karts. Unlocking them restores their karts, powers and cheering section.

Minty Zaki- Veloci-Wrapper

Power-?

Track: ?

Torvald Batterbutter ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Sticky Wipplesnit ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Adorabeezle Winterpop- The Ice Rocket

Power: ?

Track: Iceerod Trail

Nougesta Brumblestain- Revberry Creamer (restored)

Power: Instant Ice; her power up is COOL WHIPPED

Track: ?

Jubileena Bing-Bing- The Cherriot

Power: ?

Track: ?

Citrusella Flugpucker- ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Got it? Good. Let's go.

*GITC*

"Oh my land..." Felix blinked. The crew hadn't heard from Vanellope in almost 3 days so they came to see her. Once inside Sugar Rush everything seemed kosher. The race board had the next 9 avatars lined up but 2 were ones they'd never seen. A Rocher du Reese and Astrotwinkle Starglazer.

"Mom said she met a kid who looked like Sidd Vicious and Rainbow Brite's love child named Astro at Tapper's... maybe they're these alters." Calhoun shrugged.

"Tag!" Shouted Snowanna after slapping Astro hard on the back. She ran away giggling as he gave chase. Her path ran her full force at a tree. And she disappeared into it.

"Oh yea? 'mph." He skidded to a stop before rounding on Taffeyta who was laughing at him. "You' nex' Pin'ie." (You're next Pinkie.)

"Eek!" She squealed before pulling off a jump to make Felix do a double take and land on a branch. "Too slow!"

"Ya ca' stay up fehr all day. 'Ave a Sta'bu'sa!" (You can't stay up there all day. Have a Starburster!) He pointed at her and a flash of light hit her in the chest knocking her down about 2 stories. Before the adults could rush to catch her, she hit the ground hard. And bounced before wobbling to her feet. "Tag love."

"You sourball!" She yelled. "You got my skirt dirty!"

"Tell i' ta someone 'oo ca'es." (Tell it to someone who cares) He cackled taking off.

"Squirt wasn't kiddin about new powers." Ralph scratched his head as the trio scampered away without noticing them.

"Yeah. She seemed more concerned with her clothes than that 20 foot fall she took to get em dirty." Calhoun agreed.

"Heya Stinkbrain!" President von Schweetz waved speeding towards them. With her was Gloyd, looking nervous and another alter with white hair and red eyes. The prez and whitey seemed to be flanking the pumpkin kid with their karts.

"Sup President Fartfeathers?" He smiled at her greeting. "Who's this?"

"Oh nothin. This is Rocher. The three of us were on our way to meet . Wanna come? I'm sure he won't mind." She pulled her goggles down around her neck after hopping out of her ride. Orangeboar seemed to do so much more slowly as if prolonging their departure.

"That creep from Fallen Angel's? Hoo! That guy give me the willies!" Ralph threw his head back and shivering. Totally missing the color drain from Gloyd's face. Or the flailing of the raven haired girl for him to shut his cakehole.

"Uh, Ralph..." Felix cleared his throat noticing the universal signs of 'shut the fuck you dipshit' the other two children were giving them.

"Felix, come on." He turned to his coworker still blissfully unaware of the pumpkin boy scurrying back into his ride despite the other boy trying to stop him and getting a sneaker to the face for his trouble from the frantic Gloyd. "You know he scares you too. The one time you met him you passed out in fright! Along with the other nicelanders who went over to be neighborly after the whole Turbo episode. First thing we saw? Him eating this poor kid! That'll scare the hooey outta anybody! What in programmer's name do you want with that freak?"

The air around them rippled, drawing the adults into confused silence.

"Gumdrops." Vanellope groaned. "MOVE IT!"

Ralph hopped onto the Candy Kart as the married couple lept onto the Rocky Roadster on reflex. The Kernel had driven off right after the rippling occurred. The sound of falling candy trees and branches rang out behind them as they reached an open field.

"What in Sam Hill was THAT powderpuff?" Calhoun slid off the chocolate trunk.

"That was Gloyd freaking out. Thanks for that Major Bodyodor!" She huffed.

"Me? What did I do? "

"You clearly didn't see how wigged that boy got while you were talking brother. Poor thing already looked nervous before you said anything." Felix adjusted his cap.

"Two hours. Two...fudging...hours!" Vanellope yelled. "It took that long to talk him into getting this far. Half a measly mile away from the exit and you open your big fat mouth!"

"Vanellope, sweetheart, Ralph has a point though. However bluntly delivered. Why on earth would you want to see that...guy? He's horrible. " Felix interjected unable to hide his own shudder at the memory.

"No he's not. He's been loads more help than you guys in sorting this mess out. I need him to help Gloyd with his powers cuz he's sorta a walking disaster waiting to happen." She sighed.

"Wait, the pumpkin kid did that?!" Ralph's jaw dropped.

"Well, yeah. When he gets stressed out or excited stuff like that happens. But it's not his fault. Gloyd just can't control it like we can. For some reason his powers do way more damage than ours too. Stuff he messes with doesn't always reset after a race. He hides all the time and hasn't raced in almost a four days. He's terrified of himself."

"But what does that have to do with this Dorian guy? Sounds more likely to snack on him than help." Calhoun frowned realizing what she'd said. What maternal instinct she had kicking in that instant. "Not so sure I'm A-OK with you having been in that house of horrors he runs before either."

"He only does that to people who are part of his game. Look I already talked to him about it. He thinks pumpkinhead's code is chaotic but with practice he might be able to use it safely like I had to practice my glitch. Or at least not accidentally kill anybody with it. He's our best shot. Gloyd's pretty popular and it's only a matter of time before gamers start to notice his absence." she folded her arms. "He's too scared he'll hurt someone so this is the best idea I got to get him racin again. You gots any ideas, I'm all ears."

Everybody stared at Ralph. Waiting...

"(sigh) Fine. Let's go get him." The wrecker sighed.

Rocher pointed to her kart, noticing the huge crack in one side and the crumbling wheels.

"Aw nuts. I know. You and Ralph go."

I didn't take long to find the Kernel driverless along the taffy swamp.

"So...Rocher. Uh...you don't talk much do you?" Ralph tried to strike up a conversation. The small boy smiled and shook his head after removing his helmet. "Oookay. Do you just not want to or...are you like this around strangers..."

He pointed to his mouth and motioned like sound coming out then waved his finger and shook his head again.

"You can't talk."

Nod.

"Well, that would have been handy to know before hand. No offense kid but why did she send you when you can't even communicate with me? Unless you got a notebook in that jacket cuz I don't get sign language. And why did I ask that when he can't respond?" He ran a massive hand through his hair.

A small hand touched his causing Ralph to look down. Right into those ruby eyes. The feeling he got was...disturbing. As if the boy was looking into his code. The boy then moved his hand over his own heart and pointed to the candiwooded area ahead.

"You can feel where he is?"

Enthusiastic nod.

"That's not creepy..." the wrecker murmured earning a frown. "I said that out loud didn't I? Sorry. Now show me where he went so I can apologize to him too.

Back with Felix, Calhoun and Vanellope a discussion began while he tried to fix her cart.

"That Rocher kid's mute isn't he?" Tamora sat down on a jawbreaker.

"Yup. He's kinda shy too. But Gloyd and his alter Applejack have this weird bond with him I guess. They can understand him better than any of us."

"So he signs?" Felix lightly tapped the wheel he was working on again and a bit more reformed after stubbornly refusing to before.

"No...he touches or looks at us. It creeps some of the others out but that's how he communicates. It's just stronger with those two for some reason." The Prez shrugged.

"So he's psychic."

.

"I guess. But his in game power is controlling the ground and rocks and stuff. Taff's pretty much like taffy or rubber but Poproxie's got control over liquid. Candlehead controls fire and Cherriebomma makes stuff go boom. Snowanna can walk through walls but her alter hasn't shown up yet. Gloyd can cause bad luck and Applejack swaps places with people...and things. Swizzle blew out our eardrums and a chunk of a mountain with that scream of his and that sourball Astro makes those blinding flashes but outside of races they pack a whallop too. Nougesta and Adorabeezle kinda have the same power;one makes ice and the other snow. My glitch is really teleporting."

"And all this time you've been talking to Dorian?"

"Doi?! Of course. Yuni helped at first but I went to him cuz our games have the same design company. He's really nice. Nyx is a really big pussy cat and when she purrs it sounds like an engine."

"Sweetheart...it's still unsettling that you've been with him alone given his reputation. He eats people, that's not something you just wave off. No one really knows much about his game either. We were wrong about Ralph and most 'bad guys' in games but still there are a few that really like their job being bad." Felix offered. "Wow, he did a number on this...even my hammer's having trouble."

"Dorian's the GOOD GUY in his game."

"Maybe. But some of the more advanced games have a twist built in." Tamora said. "His game is long, complicated and I dunno anyone who knows how it ends. Sometimes the hero turns out to be the real villain."

*GITC*

Deep below the bustling Game Central Station, a presence waited. It would wait as long as necessary to have it's revenge. That glitch and her pet warthog would pay. Once the opportunity presented itself, both games were going down.

*GITC*

I'm sure you know who that was. Why is everyone so worried about Dorian? So, what do you think? Bit shorter than the others but this is doesn't fit into the next chapter. Let me know how I'm doin'! Reviews are like hugs. Sirensoundwave out!"


	6. Karma is Sweet (But Still a Btch)

Sup. Back again. This chapter takes us inside Rocher's head (...heavy stuff ahoy there) and more is hinted at with the true purpose of King Kooky's modifications to Sugar Rush. Vanellope tries to justify her interactions with Dorian but only worries her fellow heroes more. Which segways into Mama Havok's 'visit' to another game via flashback and our 'mysterious' watcher gets another blurb at the end.

But first...

Turbo did something more than locking away memories and trying to delete Vanellope but nobody is sure just what he did. So far, we know there's several racers locked away...inside the code of other racers. There's also actually one theme track for each racer; Sugar Rush Raceway is the first in the game so King Kooky couldn't do much to it.

All their powers have limits during a race (5 times before a 15 sec recharge as PC, 5 times then must pass a power up as NPC to recharge)) but are almost unlimited any other time. Also, the power ups are really forms of their powers King Candy took advantage of so he could use them in races while the kids were basically sitting ducks.

There's also something really wrong with Gloyd's powers that's made Vanellope seek the help of a character most of the arcade isn't to sweet on...

Vanellope vonSchweetz- The Candy Kart

Power: Teleporting (glitching)- Vanellope needs to see her destination (by visualizing it or actually seeing it) or she could end up in a worse position; her power up is called SUGAR RUSH

Track: Sugar Rush Speedway

Alter: ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Candlehead- The Ice Screamer

Power: Fire abilities- she becomes too hot for other racers to get near her; SWEET SEEKERS are the power up that contains her power as a weapon rather than defense

Track: Candlecane Lane

Alter: Cherriebomma- The Licorice Whip (a motorcycle)

Power: Creates explosions- they spring from kisses she blows; CHERRY BOMBS are her power up

Track: Twizzler Town Motor Speedway

Gloyd Orangeboar- The Kernel

Power: Chance (jinxes)- Gloyd's powers are very strange. The damage they cause is hard to fix; it may take several attempts to reset. He's terrified of his abilities but it's made worse by being activated by his emotions; JUST DESERTS is his power up

Track: ?

Alter: Applejack O'Lantern- Hershula

Power: Can swap places with anyone (or thing...)- Applejack can do this anywhere with in a game but it is limited to three racers behind or ahead of him while racing; TRICKY TREAT is his power up

Track: ?

Snowanna Rainbeau- FroCone

Power: Can phase through things; SUGAR SLIDE

Track: Rainbow Maze

Alter:? Chailata Marmamocha-

Power:

Track:

Swizzle Malarkey- The Tongue Twister

Power: Sonic Scream; LOLLI-BOOM is his power up

Track: ?  
>Alter: Astrotwinkle Starglazer- The Shooting Starburst<p>

Power: Blinding flashes of light called Starbursters; He's the only one who's power up is the same as what he calls his power STARBURSTERS

Track: ?

Taffeyta Muttonfudge- Pink Lightening

Power: Elasticity: her power up is TAFFY PULL

Track: Shortcake Bluffs

Alter: Poproxie Cola- The Coke Bottlerocket

Power: Can alter the track to create liquid traps; her power up is SYRUP TRAP

Track: Old Fizziful

Crumbelina DiCaramello- The Tira Missle

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: ?

Power?

Track: ?

Rancis Fluggerbutter- The Kit Kart

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: Rocher du Reese- The Rocky Roadster

Power: Can alter the track to create obstacles- COOKIE CLUSTER is his power up

Track: ?

We also know that the racers with copies don't have alters because these so called recolors are partially locked racers with unnamed copy karts. Unlocking them restores their karts, powers and cheering section.

Minty Zaki- Veloci-Wrapper

Power-?

Track: ?

Torvald Batterbutter ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Sticky Wipplesnit ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Adorabeezle Winterpop- The Ice Rocket

Power: ?

Track: Iceerod Trail

Nougesta Brumblestain- Revberry Creamer (restored)

Power: Instant Ice; her power up is COOL WHIPPED

Track: ?

Jubileena Bing-Bing- The Cherriot

Power: ?

Track: ?

Citrusella Flugpucker- ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Got it? Good. Let's go.

*GITC*

Rocher didn't dislike Ralph so much as wished the man understood how to take a hint. Trudging through the taffy swamp to look for his terrified friend wasn't how he planned to spend his off game hours.

Right now though, he was more concerned about Gloyd.

Perhaps it was a bit selfish of him but part of his worry stemmed from the fact that he had this deep connection with both Applejack and Gloyd and since they time shared a body that worry was squared. He had his own theory about the jinx thing. The truth was the pumpkin loving boy wasn't the only one with dangerous abilities but he was the only one that couldn't control it. Who hadn't found a way to dampen the effects of his powers. A very simple solution really and it had to do with the reason the albino boy wore a scarf. Honestly, how long would it take the others to connect the dots?

He was curious about this Dorian guy and a bit peeved at the delay in meeting him. Someone who might understand. Accept their...situation and help manage it without judgement. Oh Vanny cared enough to possibly put her life in danger for her friends, had years of experience being the 'evil glitch' and knew what it was like to not belong even though she really wanted to. But even with all that, she just didn't understand. Her time as 'the glitch' had been spent in total ignorance of the fabricated danger she posed. Her anger and desperation came from simply wanting to know why.

Theirs was different. Their pain came from knowing full well they were a threat to those around them. A nagging feeling in their programming of something horrible to come. Applejack could sense the conflicting code more when Rancis was awake and he in turn registered 'danger' around Hershula's driver mainly because of what the blonde's power was. But this became less and less of an issue as time passed. His other self could stand to be near AJ without passing out in fright now. By the same token, the urge to hiss at him died down as well.

He wondered how the others would react if they knew. He guessed they'd probably be horrified. Understandable.

Hence his 'looking' which wasn't much more than him leading the giant around in circles. And subtly altering the landscape to appear different with each turn. The seemingly endless swampland was only about a mile or two long but to the bad guy it seemed like a marathon. The whole time the small child simply humming as he marched.

He really wished Ralph had gotten frustrated and left. That would make helping his friend so much easier right now. It would be difficult enough to coax the other boy into letting him help. He really didn't need an audience as he did it. Especially with the way he reacted to Dorian's nature...

He knew exactly where Gloyd ran of to and tried his damnedest to get the man to give up the search.

"Kid are we even close?"

Head shake.

"Uggghhhhh..." he groaned. "Come on! We gotta be getting close or something. That sense of yours must be on the fritz. There's no sign of-"

At that moment, the entire area rippled.

"That was what I think it was, wasn't it?" The wrecker deadpanned. Nod. "Fanstas-"

Bloorp...THOOM!

Before that sentence ended, the swamp rumbled ominously. Then spat forth a jawbreaker sized wad of heat and pressure hardened taffy. One guess here it landed.

WHAM!

Rocher blinked at the sight of Ralph face down in a divot created by his head plowing into the cake ground. No doubt able to hear the chirping of peeps around his head.

Huh.

For someone who could cause the worst case scenario with things, his timing couldn't be better.

*GITC*

"So lemme get this straight. You guys don't want me to talk to Mr. Dorian cuz he's some ruthless monster in his game right? Cuz by that logic you shouldn't hang around Stinkbrain on off hours or really anybody from Bad Anon." Vanellope rolled her eyes.

"Kiddo, that's a simplistic way of looking at it. Not every bad guy takes his part in the game as a mere role. Some love being the villain and all that entails." Tamora sighed.

"And I just told you Mr. Dorian's a GOOD GUY. His face is on the console for cryin out loud." she sighed right back.

"Yes sweetheart. But TJ has a point. RPG games aren't always as straight forward as all that. That Kratos guy from God of War is pretty much a villain even though he's the star of his game. He stays in his game because there he's king and nobody's stupid or strong enough to challenge his authority even after arcade hours."

"You guys ever met him?"

"Well, no." the handyman admitted.

"Aha! Judging a book by it's cover isn't right and you know it.

"That's not entirely true." his wife coughed, earning her a concerned look. "Look I didn't want to worry you. That and mom already handled it."

"This I gotta hear!" Vanny beamed. Mama Havok (the president being the only one who could call her that to her face) was just so cool!

There wasn't much to tell she insisted. But as she started talking, it became clear that she really didn't remember much of the incident and was told after the fact.

Once she'd been reunited with her mother, the two spent some time catching up. She promised to meet up with her husband the next night after they had their time together. On their way out of Tappers, Jeanette went back into get her helmet while her daughter waited by the outlet. Only her baby girl wasn't there when she came back.

"I remember standing by the exit. Then nothing, She told me she spent the night game hoping with Kohut until she found me. In God of War."

"Oh my land! Honeybunch what did that creep do? And are you sure you want to talk about it...now?" His face burned bright red glancing at the innocent little girl between them. "This doesn't sound kid friendly."

"What? Oh, naw it's fine. Turns out he felt every king needs a worthy queen. The God of War could do with a shrinking violet and wanted himself a Warrior Goddess. Guess I fit the bill. Didn't think I'd be missed in my game since mom was around. Creep had his poor subject spying on me." she laughed. "Didn't seem to care I was already happily married. Or notice his potential mother in law was, how'd he put it, 'an Amazon harpy spawned from the pits of Tartarus'."

*The night of the kidnapping*

The Hall of Olympus' doors banged open revealing to figures with no place in Ancient Greece and all the party guests paused in curiousity. A hulking metal behemoth behind a smaller, curvier version. Both carrying weapons none at court had ever seen. The size of which caused them to wonder about the tinier one's strength- the certainly heavy weapon was almost as long as it was tall yet the dainty one swung it with one hand.

"Who dares enter my-"

"Shove it pasty. Sorry to interrupt yer shindig but I want my kid back. Then I'll be on my merry way." The Major Sergeant snarled charging her gun.

"Kid? I have many goats woman yet I assure you they are mine. What impudence to demand anything of a god!"

"Yeah. Not impressed. Look Einstien, your goons took my daughter and I want her back."

"You must be my bride's mother. I see where her fire comes from." Kratos lazily sipped some of his wine. "You may attend the wedding if it distresses you so."

"Wedding my bitmap! You don't just kidnap a woman and think she's gonna be yours chump. If you haven't noticed, Tammy ain't part of this game! And married! "

"I will simply make her a widow then." The tattooed god yawned. "You bore me. Be gone woman."

WHOOM!

The back of his throne, just above his head, disintegrated. He turned to the female intruder to see her gun barrel smoking.

"I ain't askin again, next shot ventilates yer pea brain. Where. Is. My. DAUGHTER?!"

What followed was a brawl that took out every guard that came their way and about half the guests too. When the smoke cleared the hall was in shambles. The two panting soldiers the only ones still standing.

"Useless." Kratos rose from his seat, lept over the table and landed inches from Kohut. A mighty headbutt shattered his visor and the marine went down hard. Havok jumped to avoid the leg sweep but couldn't dodge the backhand he delivered. She went flying into the table shattering it further. Her gun landing clear across the room. "Haha. Pathetic."

"The hell are you laughin at?!" She spat blood on his foot when he stopped before her.

"Even without your weapon your bravado does not desert you. Admirable but pointless. Begone and I may forgive your trespass. No mere mortal could hope to stand against me. Certainly not a woman!" The god laughed. "More children can always be had. You are not that old wen-"

The sensation that interrupted his misogynistic rant was unlike any he had ever felt. No battle wound compared to the fire in his groin. The burning spread through his veins like an inferno; once it reached his head, his vision went white. What sorcery was this?!

"Now that we're both at eye level," Her voice broke through the haze. Why did she sound so close if she was on the ground? Slowly his vision returned and he realize he'd dropped to his knees somehow. Clearing up just in time to see the soles of two boots speeding at his face. The force of her kangaroo kick knocking him back to slam his skull on the stone floor.

"Kohut? You breathin soldier?" She called. He responded with a weak thumbs up then slowly rolling over to stand. "Good."

Rising to her feet, she retracted the cables of her taser. Standing over the daze god, she then fired again, right between his eyes. Those still in one piece or slowly regenerating did not miss the satisfied up turn of her lip as their master convulsed like a mad man before going still once more.

"Night, night big boy. As I was sayin, cough up my daughter, some of that fine hooch ya been swilling and I'll be on my merry way!" She barked to the room. The blood running down her face made the her stance much more (needlessly) intimidating.

*end*

By the time TJ was done, her husband had turned an ashen color. Vanellope on the other hand had stars in her eyes.

"Sweet mother of monkey milk she's tough!"

*GITC*

Meanwhile, a certain someone reflected on his situation.

Now nothing but free floating code, Turbo was once again gameless. Only this time he could even enter another to start again! The digital equivalent of a ghost he initially raged at his predicament. Then he remembered set of events from 15 years prior. A smile tugging his lips.

Getting back at the glitch and her pet were small potatoes. Why not make all those fools pay?

*GITC*

All hail BAMF!Mama Havok. Kratos isn't really known for planning in the game. Though he can be smart, he's blinded by rage and pretty much goes after a goal with single minded determination destroying everything in his path with brute strength for most of the game; like a bulldozer. Not winning traits of a mastermind. Anyways, you have Patrick O'Ceannliath, author of "Who's Bad?" (a Wreck it Ralph/ God of War Crossover) to thank for inspiring me to write that scene. Check it out if you want to see the big bad Spartan have a (totally plausible) existential crisis n_n

What's up with Gloyd, Rancis and their alters? And what's could Turbo possibly do in that form?

Tell me whatcha think! Reviewsa are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out!


	7. Viroid Mary

Hey! I sorta forgot to put the reference/joke explanation from chapter 4. Here's a hint since full lyrics are taboo:

Mocha Choca lata _ _ _

_ _Marmalade

Yup. Chai-LATA MARMA**-**MOCHA's name is from the song Lady Marmalade. Her kart name (which hasn't been mentioned) is from another 70's song which has also since been covered by another artist.

I'd like to first let you guys know that this started off as something that SHOULD have been a few chapters long at most. Like Winter's Dark Angel, it now has it's own folder and been moved out of my Plot Bunny Farm on my Drive. I have a viable plot that actually explains what up to this point has just been randomness, humor and a touch of WTF. Because of that, I missed a few opportunities for wordplay; this chapter title works with the pattern for this fic's chapter titles in my head but requires some thought (or just plain old knowledge of obscure crap) for others to get. We get back to Rocher and Gloyd; the conversation with Felix, TJ and Vanny; wedding plans and a bit more of Turbo. Not exactly in that order.

But, you know the drill. I do this for my own sense of continuity as well as helping the reader simply because the amount of new crap I introduced to the WIR universe.

Turbo did something more than locking away memories and trying to delete Vanellope but nobody is sure just what he did. So far, we know there's several racers locked away...inside the code of other racers. There's also actually one theme track for each racer; Sugar Rush Raceway is the first in the game so King Kooky couldn't do much to it. It also explains why Vanny is the only one with a power right up until the reset. Enter Travis, a strange gamer who unlocks several of the alters. But what he did causes game changes even when he isn't playing.

Each racer has a unique ability that up until now were only available as power ups during a race. All their powers have limits during a race (5 times before a 15 sec recharge as PC, 5 times then must pass a power up as NPC to recharge)) but are almost unlimited any other time. Also, the power ups are really forms of their powers King Candy took advantage of so he could use them in races while the kids were basically sitting ducks.

There's also something really wrong with Gloyd's powers that's made Vanellope seek the help of a character most of the arcade isn't too sweet on. Dorian Twillight is the good guy of Fallen Angel's Requiem but there are doubts that he's not secretly his game's villain. The fact that the RPG style game is massive, full of plot twists and no one seems to know how his game ends isn't helping that rumor. His in game girlfriend Heather Lightheart has a relationship with another character on off hours; the two are just friends.

Other Sugar Rush Racers are hiding something too..

Vanellope vonSchweetz- The Candy Kart

Power: Teleporting (glitching)- Vanellope needs to see her destination (by visualizing it or actually seeing it) or she could end up in a worse position; her power up is called SUGAR RUSH

Track: Sugar Rush Speedway

Alter: ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Candlehead- The Ice Screamer

Power: Fire abilities- she becomes too hot for other racers to get near her; SWEET SEEKERS are the power up that contains her power as a weapon rather than defense

Track: Candlecane Lane

Alter: Cherriebomma- The Licorice Whip (a motorcycle)

Power: Creates explosions- they spring from kisses she blows; CHERRY BOMBS are her power up

Track: Twizzler Town Motor Speedway

Gloyd Orangeboar- The Kernel

Power: Chance (jinxes)- Gloyd's powers are very strange. The damage they cause is hard to fix; it may take several attempts to reset. He's terrified of his abilities but it's made worse by being activated by his emotions; JUST DESERTS is his power up

Track: ?

Alter: Applejack O'Lantern- Hershula

Power: Can swap places with anyone (or thing...)- Applejack can do this anywhere with in a game but it is limited to three racers behind or ahead of him while racing; TRICKY TREAT is his power up

Track: ?

Snowanna Rainbeau- FroCone

Power: Can phase through things; SUGAR SLIDE

Track: Rainbow Maze

Alter:? Chailata Marmamocha- ?

Power:

Track:

Swizzle Malarkey- The Tongue Twister

Power: Sonic Scream; LOLLI-BOOM is his power up

Track: ?  
>Alter: Astrotwinkle Starglazer- The Shooting Starburst<p>

Power: Blinding flashes of light called Starbursters; He's the only one who's power up is the same as what he calls his power STARBURSTERS

Track: ?

Taffeyta Muttonfudge- Pink Lightening

Power: Elasticity: her power up is TAFFY PULL

Track: Shortcake Bluffs

Alter: Poproxie Cola- The Coke Bottlerocket

Power: Can alter the track to create liquid traps; her power up is SYRUP TRAP

Track: Old Fizziful

Crumbelina DiCaramello- The Tira Missle

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: ?

Power?

Track: ?

Rancis Fluggerbutter- The Kit Kart

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: Rocher du Reese- The Rocky Roadster

Power: Can alter the track to create obstacles- COOKIE CLUSTER is his power up

Track: ?

We also know that the racers with copies don't have alters because these so called recolors are partially locked racers with unnamed copy karts. Unlocking them restores their karts, powers and cheering section.

Minty Zaki- Veloci-Wrapper

Power-?

Track: ?

Torvald Batterbutter ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Sticky Wipplesnit ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Adorabeezle Winterpop- The Ice Rocket

Power: creates snow; ICE CREAM CANNON is her power up

Track: Iceerod Trail

Nougesta Brumblestain- Revberry Creamer (restored)

Power: Instant Ice; her power up is COOL WHIPPED

Track: ?

Jubileena Bing-Bing- The Cherriot

Power: ?

Track: ?

Citrusella Flugpucker- ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Got it? Good. Let's go.

*GITC*

"Oh! You look so pretty!" Heather squealed.

"Really?" Chun Li examined herself in the mirror. "I'm gonna tip over from this head dress. And it feels like Dhalsim has his arm wrapped around my legs in this..."

"Well, at least it's lover boy's two favorite colors." Cammy smirked. "Red and gold."

"Hm...true."

The first lady of fighting stood in a dress shop modeling a gorgeous red and gold cheongsam. Atop her head, she wore a rather heavy gold ornament. With Heather and Cammy to help her choose, she was trying to pick out a wedding dress. This was the fifth store they'd been too in the last 3 days. Gamers never really noticed that buildings and such in the background actually had names or purposes. Especially if game play did not allow them to enter. At present, they were uptown in Vice City.

To be honest, she owed this all to Ralph and co. Life wasn't worth living if you weren't happy. The events of the last few weeks really opened the eyes of the game characters to the fact that their programmed labels didn't actually define them. They weren't just their job description.

Still, many were flabbergasted (and a touch weirded out) when M. Bison proposed to her. Basically, the guy who killed her father and ruled an international crime syndicate wanted her as his bride. And she said yes. Of course that confused people. Didn't your backstory define you? Bison wasn't a heartless evil monster...outside of work. He actually co-ordinated the Bad-Anon meetings with Cylde, making sure new bad guys knew the organization existed. He was also a really great cook. And liked to lay the violin as much as he loved to fight. Actually most of their game's villains were well known for their classical music skills. Though HOW Vega managed the harp with his blades on was a mystery in and of itself.

Finding out the two had been steadily dating for three years softened the news though. So did their reasons for being so secretive. Bison didn't want her to be ostracized. She had the life of a hero, adored and respected by other characters. Having their relationship out in the open would have been detrimental to her reputation. Despite her insistence that it didn't matter her boyfriend pointed out that he couldn't give a rat's ass how others saw him. But the possibly being blacklisted wouldn't be something she could get used to the way he did. With her social, caring nature it would crush her. And admitted that he simply could not deal with that. Then the second coming of Turbo had changed how many saw their existence beyond their coding. And emboldened them both to go public.

It also helped Heather. There was so much fear surrounding her game, or rather her co star. The shy brunette had been venturing out of her console for years but kept to herself mainly due to the strict lines dividing characters. The three of them had always been cordial to one another but now they were like the three musketeers. Even though she wasn't a fighter; just a regular sales clerk/blog writer. Cammy and Chun Li made her feel accepted, like she could do anything. In turn, she reminded them that they were fierce female fighters but female all the same. That bravado could sometimes take a backseat to just being one of the girls.

"How much for this one?" Cammy asked despite the glare of the asian woman.

"2500 credits." the clerk smiled. "I must say we don't get many requests for such a style,the material is a bit hard to code."

"Um, the waist is too loose but the hip and thigh area is snug." she frowned. "Other than that I love it."

"Girl those powerhouse legs of yours are meant to accentuated. We could try a variation on your fighting outfit, using this design. That's something you guys could code right?" Heather asked.

"Yes, but it will cost considerably more as it's custom made not a tailored off the rack dress."

"Oh that's fine. B doesn't care how much so long as I like it. Thanks for that idea Heather." Chun Li turned around a bit more despite her wobbling threatening to tear the dress. How exciting! Oh she had such big plans and so much to do. Trying to decide between the Cathedral in Hero's Duty, her own village, one of the temples or the Palace Courtyard from the Mortal Kombat Sagas ("Thank programmer there IS a day mode; I'd delete myself if all I ever saw were various shades of depressing" -Shang Tsung) for the ceremony. The beach in Waikiki Wipeout was lovely too. Then there was the guest list. Making sure nobody who couldn't hold their peace or took 'til death do us part' too literally would be in attendance happened to be a problem. Nothing she and her gal pals could work out right?

Without much thought, she scratched an itch along the hairline at the nape of her neck before undoing the head ceremonial head piece. Never noticing the faint red spider webbing mark developing there. Or the near identical one partially covered by the shop attendant's sleeve as she accepted the item back.

*GITC*

"Rocher?" The pumpkin racer wiped his face sniffling."How is it you keep finding me? Is it because of him? Applejack?"

Rocher crawled into the hollow of a tree to sit beside the crying boy. Touching his cheek, he smiled.

{It's because I can feel you. I can feel everyone} He sent through the touch. {I'm worried about you.} To say he spoke wouldn't be right. He conveyed emotions and feelings more than actual words like this.

"You're scared of me." Gloyd hiccuped.

{Not of you. FOR you. I can help you control it but you have to trust me.}

Sliding his hand up through Orangeboar's hair (his hat lay beside him), he put a finger over his lips before undoing his scarf.

"You're neck..." It had set of faint but noticeable bite marks on one side. Pale cheeks blushed. "Applejack really is a vampire. He drinks your blood?"

Nod.

"And...you want me to do it too?"

Nod.

"No. No way. That's gross! I am not drinking your blood dude. I know I'm kinda creepy but there is a line."

{Sigh. My code is more stable than yours. It will help you get a grip on your powers.}

"But doesn't that hurt hurt you?"

{It...stung at first. Then it feels funny but it doesn't hurt me. I get a little tired afterwards though.}

"I don't have fangs..." Why was he even entertaining this?!

Eying the smaller boy, Gloyd watched him take a small knife from his jacket. His heart stopped totally forgetting what they'd just been 'talking' about. He was gonna kill him? That's his idea of helping?!

{Calm down.} The blade moved quickly and brown eyes widened. The other racer's pale arm was bleeding.

"What the fudge?! Why would you do that?!"

{You just said it. Because you don't have fangs like AJ.}

Respawning was something that only happened with catastrophic or fatal injuries. Hence the need for a hospital near the castle. There'd been plenty of times when something stupid after hours resulted in a day of racing with a leg in a cast hidden by slightly larger pants or tapped up ribs under their shirt. Sometimes there were scars but the marred skin tended to gradually return to normal over time. Being genuinely sick didn't matter to King Kooky either; he still made them enter the roster race. Which often resulted in several of the next day's avatars hiding the fact that they were sneezy, stuffy, queasy or just plain miserable from players for DAYS.

He'd smelled blood before. Either hurting himself or seeing other have accidents. The odor being one of the few things in Sugar Rush that wasn't so sugary.

Yet, the scent the wound gave off was...sweet. Chocolate and hazelnuts, not copper and salt. The raven haired boy found himself grabbing the offered arm and sealing his mouth over the bleeding wound before he could stop himself.

It was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted. Rocher's life blood, his code was delicious! Part of him wanted to be disgusted but it was drowned out by the part of him demanding he drink more. The same part that dully registered the albino's heart rate was slowing. How long had it been?! How much had he taken?!

Alarmed, he pulled away panicked that he'd hurt his friend. Rocher was blushing and looked exhausted, still he offered a weak grin. Blue lines wrapping around the cut, stopping the flow. In a few days the mark would fade just like the one on his neck. Then he placed his head on Gloyd's shoulder, closing his eyes. The pair stayed that way for some time.

*GITC*

"Ralph? Where are the kids?" Felix asked his co-worker. "Jimny Jamny your head!"

The wrecker returned to the edge of the forest minus either boy but sporting a gigantic (even or him) lump on the top of his head.

"Yeah, news flash that swamp erupts. I got beaned good with something it spat out that was definitely NOT taffy when that lil jinx freaked out again. Woke up with this lovely goose egg but thing one and thing two were gone." He have a slight wince when Fix It super jumped to whack it with his hammer. With an old timey dinging tune the swelling vanished. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"You got ditched." TJ tapped her chin. "Neither of them came back here so maybe they went off to hide. You said the quiet one helped convince him to come the first time. Probably couldn't do it again. Maybe give em some time and try again tomorrow?"

"I guess. Still I wanna talk to Mr. Dorian. Stuff still happened today and it would be rude not to show up just because of this."

"Vanellope..."

"Ugh! Would it make you guys feel better to tag along? Make sure the big bad monster doesn't gobble me up?" she rolled her eyes.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." TJ nodded. "What do you guys think?"

"I really don't like the idea of seeing that whack job or his game again outside my nightmares. But I like the idea of him being alone with the squirt even less." Ralph huffed. "I'm in."

"Well, I don't think I should let the most important ladies in my life go unaccompanied by me into a strange environment. I'll come just to keep an eye on things."

"Are you implying something?" TJ glared.

/That now I'm totally paranoid about some big shot with fancy shmancy powers trying to drag you off to marry you caveman style? Yes I am./

"Of course not dear."

"You're a terrible liar Fix It." Vanny giggled as they set off.,m

Entering GCS by rail, they passed someone they would have pulverized if they could actually see them. Turbo's ghost status required energy he simply did not have to be visible at the moment.

His plan was simple. Why shut down a few games when it was possible to get them all unplugged? Why should they continue to exist while he was relegated to the junk pile? If he couldn't have his glory, no one would. Litwak and all his precious games would regret rejecting the greatest racer ever. The best part? All he needed was a to watch and wait. After all, all he had was time now...

*GITC*

So, there's that.

Yes, Bison/Chun Li are my favorite Street Fighter ship, with Guile/Cammy a close second. But it's not just thrown in for fun. What does it mean? What does the chapter title mean?

Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out.


	8. Broken Glass and Heart Attacks

Sup peeps. Just want to get a few things about me straight. If you don't care, the end of it is marked: #end useless info#. The end of the story recap is marked: Got it? Good *GITC*.

1. My mind is a scary place to live. I have found my talent lies in taking otherwise benign or humorous things and making them horrifying. But still fluffy and or comical to some degree. See Spongebob references in "Once Upon a Time in Everlie"; pretty much all of "Winter's Dark Angel" and it's sequel are one disjointed, disturbing piece of fluff. Or just look up Happy Tree Friends for an example involving less reading...

2. I am full of mostly random facts and will beat my readers over the head with this knowledge. Case in point, the title of the last chapter. Viroid Mary is a play on the nickname Typhoid Mary, given to a New York woman found to carry and spread the seriously contagious (and truly awful) Typhoid Fever virus but be totally unaffected by it herself in the late 19th century. She lived the last 23 years of her life in a hospital for quarantining the highly infectious and/or incurable (due mostly to incredible stupidity on her part) even though she wasn't sick in the interest of public safety.

3. Speaking of titles, you know I mean to finish a story when the chapters have titles. There's only one exception to that rule which doesn't matter because it's complete. For this story titles are based only on one or two events not the chapter as a whole. I often use song titles but not here. Yes I am vaguely aware of the fact that this is a title of a song (I've never heard) but a lot of phrases are. I just don't mean it that way in this case.

#end useless info#

There's a flat out reference to something again in this chapter, but it's about as subtle as a flying house. I'll wait a while to reveal what it is though just to see who gets it.

Recap time!

Turbo did something more than locking away memories and trying to delete Vanellope but nobody is sure just what he did. So far, we know there's several racers locked away...inside the code of other racers. There's also actually one theme track for each racer; Sugar Rush Raceway is the first in the game so King Kooky couldn't do much to it. It also explains why Vanny is the only one with a power right up until the reset. Enter Travis, a strange gamer who unlocks several of the alters. But what he did causes game changes even when he isn't playing.

Each racer has a unique ability that up until now were only available as power ups during a race. All their powers have limits during a race (5 times before a 15 sec recharge as PC, 5 times then must pass a power up as NPC to recharge)) but are almost unlimited any other time. Also, the power ups are really forms of their powers King Candy took advantage of so he could use them in races while the kids were basically sitting ducks.

There's also something really wrong with Gloyd's powers that's made Vanellope seek the help of a character most of the arcade isn't too sweet on. Dorian Twillight is the good guy of Fallen Angel's Requiem but there are doubts that he's not secretly his game's villain. The fact that the RPG style game is massive, full of plot twists and no one seems to know how his game ends isn't helping that rumor. His in game girlfriend Heather Lightheart has a relationship with another character on off hours; the two are just friends.

Other Sugar Rush Racers are hiding something too: Both Gloyd and Applejack have a bizarre urge to drink Rocher's blood; Rancis' unknown power is another anomaly and the ever changing game atmospshere is grating on some of their nerves.

Now Turbo's back and making trouble but this time he has his sights set on the whole arcade.

Vanellope vonSchweetz- The Candy Kart

Power: Teleporting (glitching)- Vanellope needs to see her destination (by visualizing it or actually seeing it) or she could end up in a worse position; her power up is called SUGAR RUSH

Track: Sugar Rush Speedway

Alter: ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Candlehead- The Ice Screamer

Power: Fire abilities- she becomes too hot for other racers to get near her; SWEET SEEKERS are the power up that contains her power as a weapon rather than defense

Track: Candlecane Lane

Alter: Cherriebomma- The Licorice Whip (a motorcycle)

Power: Creates explosions- they spring from kisses she blows; CHERRY BOMBS are her power up

Track: Twizzler Town Motor Speedway

Gloyd Orangeboar- The Kernel

Power: Chance (jinxes)- Gloyd's powers are very strange. The damage they cause is hard to fix; it may take several attempts to reset. He's terrified of his abilities but it's made worse by being activated by his emotions; JUST DESERTS is his power up

Track: ?

Alter: Applejack O'Lantern- Hershula

Power: Can swap places with anyone (or thing...)- Applejack can do this anywhere with in a game but it is limited to three racers behind or ahead of him while racing; TRICKY TREAT is his power up

Track: ?

Snowanna Rainbeau- FroCone

Power: Can phase through things; SUGAR SLIDE

Track: Rainbow Maze

Alter:? Chailata Marmamocha- ?

Power:

Track:

Swizzle Malarkey- The Tongue Twister

Power: Sonic Scream; LOLLI-BOOM is his power up

Track: ?  
>Alter: Astrotwinkle Starglazer- The Shooting Starburst<p>

Power: Blinding flashes of light called Starbursters; He's the only one who's power up is the same as what he calls his power STARBURSTERS

Track: ?

Taffeyta Muttonfudge- Pink Lightening

Power: Elasticity: her power up is TAFFY PULL

Track: Shortcake Bluffs

Alter: Poproxie Cola- The Coke Bottlerocket

Power: Can alter the track to create liquid traps; her power up is SYRUP TRAP

Track: Old Fizziful

Crumbelina DiCaramello- The Tira Missle

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: ?

Power?

Track: ?

Rancis Fluggerbutter- The Kit Kart

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: Rocher du Reese- The Rocky Roadster

Power: Can alter the track to create obstacles- COOKIE CLUSTER is his power up

Track: ?

We also know that the racers with copies don't have alters because these so called recolors are partially locked racers with unnamed copy karts. Unlocking them restores their karts, powers and cheering section.

Minty Zaki- Veloci-Wrapper

Power-?

Track: ?

Torvald Batterbutter ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Sticky Wipplesnit ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Adorabeezle Winterpop- The Ice Rocket

Power: creates snow; ICE CREAM CANNON is her power up

Track: Iceerod Trail

Nougesta Brumblestain- Revberry Creamer (restored)

Power: Instant Ice; her power up is COOL WHIPPED

Track: ?

Jubileena Bing-Bing- The Cherriot

Power: ?

Track: ?

Citrusella Flugpucker- ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Got it? Good. Let's go.

*GITC*

"Snowanna!"

Rainbeau held on to the side of the bluffs for dear life. Their game of tag had graduated to a race on the Shortcake Bluff track. And predictably something went wrong. Now she was hanging from a mound of shortcake several hundred feet above the ground below. Taffyta had tried to stretch down to her, she was just too far down to reach. Respawning, the most likely option, sucked. While you got restored to brand new, it still hurt like a mother. She also wasn't too keen on figuring out where she'd land if she phased through the ground before impact.

Something light and powdery hit her face breaking her concentration.

"You gotta b-" She was unable to finish that last word. The spongy hand hold gave way sending her plummeting through the cotton candy clouds.

"Huh. 'Ell, fink she'll tu'n up down fait or up 'ere?" Astro wonderd aloud. (Huh. Think she'll turn up down there or up here?) "Ow!"

"You're such a jerk!" Taffeyta punched him in the arm.

"Wha'?! Va'id question!" (What?! Valid question!) he shouted back.

"What's all the fuss about?"

The two racers could only blink a the person before them. Clad in a bead tassled dress tie dyed various shades of orange and knee high platform white go-go boots was a girl. Just floating far away from the cliff. Her orange hair pulled back into two high ponytails of curly tresses. A barrette resembling two crossed cinnamon sticks off to the left side of her hair, earrings like orange wedges dangling from her ears. Her skin the color of cafe au lait, eyes bright orange.

"'ho fa bloody 'ell are you?" (Who the bloody hell are you?) Astro snorted.

"Name's Chailata Marmamocha sucka." She glared with both hands on her hips. "What's it too ya?"

*GITC*

The trolley car for Fallen Angel's Requiem from GCS happened to be part of the public monorail system that wound through each level. The Core Four pulled into the entry level station. Deserted and dimly lit as it was. Several fluorescent lights flickering.

"Inviting..." TJ gazed out of the car window.

"You come in here all the time? Alone?" Felix shivered.

"Come on. It's just atmosphere." Vanny stepped out onto the platform. "Dorian's place is-"

The instant she exited the car, it shot off like a rocket. Taking her adult friends with it.

"-this way. Ooh boy. That's not good."

Meanwhile Felix and TJ scrambled to avoid Ralph's bulk as they were all thrown to the back of the car. It zoomed along at breakneck speed for what seemed like forever. Finally coming to a stop and slamming them all into the front this time.

"Oh my land! That was close." Fix-it clutched his chest. "You both ok?"

"Yeah, yeah but close my behind. The second the squirt got off we go for an unscheduled ride? If that's a coincidence, I'll eat my stump." Ralph groused.

"Well, this area certainly seems more welcoming." TJ noted. Unlike the first stop, this one was immaculate and brightly lit. Full of people going about their after hours routine without a care in the world. All wearing smiles. Every last person. "But I'm not sure if it's more or less disturbing."

"Got my vote for-." Ralph started.

"Welcome strangers." A man dressed as a station attendant just appeared causing them all to jump. Where the heck had he come from?!

"Er, hi. Excuse me sir we're a bit lost. Could you tell us when the next train to the exit comes?"  
>Felix asked politely.<p>

"Lost? Oh, no one here is lost, my boy. You have only to see the the Sanctum, hear the word to know that."

"That wasn't helpful." TJ deadpanned.

"Your answers lie within the Sanctum. Follow the arrows and all will be revealed." Without further ado, he walked off. That serene smile never leaving his face.

"Ooookaaaay." Tamora raised a brow.

They had no choice but to follow the path of blinking white arrows. It lead them up to a city bustling with life. The time appeared to be day, the city looking like any metropolis. Except everything was...clean. Bright. There were trees and flowers everywhere adding to the overall lively appearance.

The Sanctum turned out to be a lavish cathedral in the city center. High arches and large window set in smooth stone and gold. People walking past would pause, clasp their hands over their hearts and bow in one motion and continue on their way. All with that...smile. The arrows pointed to the doorway where two huge guards stood dressed in purple armour over blue robes. They moved aside opening the door without a word.

"Welcome travelers." A young, accented voice greeted them. Regally seated upon a throne at the end of the long carpet, a small boy. A small boy with light lavender skin. His hair, an odd shade of light seafoam green with a metallic sheen probably to the base of his skull, though hard to tell with it moving like he was underwater; fanning around his head like a halo. Dressed in a strange form fitting half shirt with no sleeves; extremely short shorts and thigh high boots that all looked like they were painted on. The whole outfit deep purple, with piping and swirling designs a slightly darker shade than his hair. As he stood, his eyes opened and the heros gasped. Blue sclera, white irises, black pupils. He looked nothing like the normal humans they'd seen so far, yet still lovely, adorable. "I am Voland, boss of level 18, Ville de l'Étoile du Matin."

Groveling before him a haggard looking man, begging for forgiveness. The child's declaration didn't make the sight any less disconcerting. If anything, they went on alert. He'd basically admitted to being a high level villain.

"Hi. We don't mean to interrupt just everyone we asked for direction told us to come here, not where we need to go." Ralph began. "I'm Ralph, this is Felix and Tamora. Um, we could wait if you're busy."

"Zee 'eros of zee arcade. I am 'onored." His lilting french accent replied warmly. "Zhis will only take a moment. You may rise."

The man rose to his full height towering over the child. His eyes wide and terrified.

"My lord, I meant no trespass-"

"It iz alright. Zhere is no fear 'ere, only my love dear one." A tiny hand reached up to touch the man's chest gently. "You did what you zhought was best. Zat iz all I can ask of my children. Speak my name child, code 101. And all shall be forgiven." The man relaxed at the touch and bowed his head, the same smile as everyone they'd met returning.

"1010011...0...1...0."

With the last number in the code, his face registered shock and terror returned as he just...dissolved. His body melting. vanishing into the floor and his code center absorbing into Voland's outstreched hand. Not one guard standing at attention flinched at the deletion of a sprite right in front of them. The guy was freaking GONE and no one thought is was horrifying other than the Wrecker, the Fixer and the Sargeant.

" Yeesh!"

"Jimmany Jamminy!"

"Criminy!"

"Do not worry. 'E iz no longer in suffering." Voland descended the 5 steps to the floor but his feet did not touch it. Instead he floated a few inches above the purple carpet. "You are lost. I can 'elp you be found. Would you like to belong? Embrace zhe word?"

"Er, sorry we can't stay here your...lordship?" Tamora's hand flexed for her sidearm. "We don't want to be one of your toys."

"Pity. I like collecting beautiful zings. You are 'ere to meet Monsieur Dorian, non? I apologize, Derrick brought you 'ere, zinking you to be a threat to be disposed of. Zee only outsider who visits is Princess Vanellope. 'E 'as been ... disciplined for 'is actions."

"You mean deleted." Ralph glared.

"Oui. For good. 'E "as returned to 'is maker, moi." Voland giggled cutely. "Farewell, it was nice meeting you." With a wave of a dainty hand, a portal opened beneath them dropping the trio into darkness. Smiling brightly he turned away from the spot."Sirène?"

"Yes my lord?" A woman bowed, dressed in a shimmering green pencil dress.

"Tell me a story." The floating boy took her hand and lead her to the throne. Seating himself there and guiding her to the pillow beside it.

"Of course my lord."

*GITC*

This time, Wreck it landed first. Face down in a lush lawn. Felix and Tamora bouncing off his behind to stand in the garden? Park?

"That wasn't terrifying. This game has everything. Man eating demons, kids that are cur but pure frickin evil, kiddnapping. What a place!" Ralph shuddered. "Now where are we!?"

"My garden. I see you've met Voland." A familiar voice chuckled. "Madam President told me the monorail car took off before you could get off. His zealots are the police of our game."

"Vo did that to me too at first. I kinda flipped out when you guys vanished cuz he's kinda creepy."

A sleek panther stalked out of the bushes, Vanellope seated on it's back.

"Yes, after an attempt to infiltrate our game years ago, anyone who enters unbidden is suspect. Welcome." Dorian chuckled from his place beside her.

*GITC*

Ok. Buttload of religious references. What do you expect in a game called Fallen Angel's Requiem?

Voland- A title often given to the devil in medieval France.

Ville de l'Étoile du Matin- "City of the Morning Star" in French; Morning Star is another of the Devil's titles.

1010011010- Binary for 666, the mark of the Beast

18- Voland's level is the sum of 6+6+6

Sirène- French for mermaid.

Overall, Voland is deceptive in his appearance and mannerisms; looking like a strange child, speaking like a much older person and radiating love and calmness. Until he tells Derrick his is forgiven but makes him recite a command that deletes himself and absorbs his code before he respawns. Even then no one but our heros is horrified; his tone remains gentle while asking if they would like to belong, a question with clearly sinister connotations. He also laughs when admitting to permanently deleting someone. After he sends them away, he childishly asks to be told a story. The utopian appearance of his city coupled with the odd bliss of it's citizens shows he has them under his control. Hence he's a Boss.

Whether you get the inspiration of Voland as a character may depend on how old you are...and how much tv you watched. It's from something I have referenced in another story. Sirène is a clue, as is the way Voland looks n_n

Okay, the rest of the core four meets Dorian! What do you guys think so far?

Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out!


	9. So What to Do When You Realize

Full Chapter Title: So...What to Do When You Realize You're Living in an M. Night Shyamalan Movie? Pray It's One of the Good Ones.

Firstly, Shyamalan, like everybody else, has had his successes and his 'Oh dear god WHY?!'s. That's what happens in life; you win some, you lose some. It just happens pretty much all of his losses have been in a row for the last 10 god damn years. What's really disappointing is I can't tell if he's learning from bad experiences and attempting new things with his movies that just don't work out or desperately trying to repeat the formula that made The Sixth Sense a hit by forcing it into other scripts. A tactic that worked once. Arguably twice. My point is twists can be awesome. Or really, really bad. The title pretty much sums up my hopes for this fic and most of my writings.

This chapter tosses a few curves in. More questions are answered but those answer immediately generate new questions. The mystery of what Turbo did and why slowly reveals itself. Oh and Dorian meets TJ, Felix and Ralph. Let the snark off commence.

With that said...

Recap time!

Turbo did something more than locking away memories and trying to delete Vanellope but nobody is sure just what he did. So far, we know there's several racers locked away...inside the code of other racers. There's also actually one theme track for each racer; Sugar Rush Raceway is the first in the game so King Kooky couldn't do much to it. It also explains why Vanny is the only one with a power right up until the reset. Enter Travis, a strange gamer who unlocks several of the alters. But what he did causes game changes even when he isn't playing.

Each racer has a unique ability that up until now were only available as power ups during a race. All their powers have limits during a race (5 times before a 15 sec recharge as PC, 5 times then must pass a power up as NPC to recharge)) but are almost unlimited any other time. Also, the power ups are really forms of their powers King Candy took advantage of so he could use them in races while the kids were basically sitting ducks.

There's also something really wrong with Gloyd's powers that's made Vanellope seek the help of a character most of the arcade isn't too sweet on. Dorian Twillight is the good guy of Fallen Angel's Requiem but there are doubts that he's not secretly his game's villain. The fact that the RPG style game is massive, full of plot twists and no one seems to know how his game ends isn't helping that rumor. His in game girlfriend Heather Lightheart has a relationship with another character on off hours; the two are just friends. It's also full of other strangeness that creeps out the rest of the arcade mainly because it doesn't follow the general good vs evil motif (no one is too sure who's who).

Other Sugar Rush Racers are hiding something too: Both Gloyd and Applejack have a bizarre urge to drink Rocher's blood; Rancis' unknown power is another anomaly and the ever changing game atmospshere is grating on some of their nerves.

Now Turbo's back and making trouble but this time he has his sights set on the whole arcade.

Vanellope vonSchweetz- The Candy Kart

Power: Teleporting (glitching)- Vanellope needs to see her destination (by visualizing it or actually seeing it) or she could end up in a worse position; her power up is called SUGAR RUSH

Track: Sugar Rush Speedway

Alter: ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Candlehead- The Ice Screamer

Power: Fire abilities- she becomes too hot for other racers to get near her; SWEET SEEKERS are the power up that contains her power as a weapon rather than defense

Track: Candlecane Lane

Alter: Cherriebomma- The Licorice Whip (a motorcycle)

Power: Creates explosions- they spring from kisses she blows; CHERRY BOMBS are her power up

Track: Twizzler Town Motor Speedway

Gloyd Orangeboar- The Kernel

Power: Chance (jinxes)- Gloyd's powers are very strange. The damage they cause is hard to fix; it may take several attempts to reset. He's terrified of his abilities but it's made worse by being activated by his emotions; JUST DESERTS is his power up

Track: ?

Alter: Applejack O'Lantern- Hershula

Power: Can swap places with anyone (or thing...)- Applejack can do this anywhere with in a game but it is limited to three racers behind or ahead of him while racing; TRICKY TREAT is his power up

Track: ?

Snowanna Rainbeau- FroCone

Power: Can phase through things; SUGAR SLIDE

Track: Rainbow Maze

Alter: Chailata Marmamocha

Power: Flight; LIGHTLY WHIPPED

Track:

Swizzle Malarkey- The Tongue Twister

Power: Sonic Scream; LOLLI-BOOM is his power up

Track: ?

Alter: Astrotwinkle Starglazer- The Shooting Starburst

Power: Blinding flashes of light called Starbursters; He's the only one who's power up is the same as what he calls his power STARBURSTERS

Track: ?

Taffeyta Muttonfudge- Pink Lightening

Power: Elasticity: her power up is TAFFY PULL

Track: Shortcake Bluffs

Alter: Poproxie Cola- The Coke Bottlerocket

Power: Can alter the track to create liquid traps; her power up is SYRUP TRAP

Track: Old Fizziful

Crumbelina DiCaramello- The Tira Missle

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: ?

Power?

Track: ?

Rancis Fluggerbutter- The Kit Kart

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: Rocher du Reese- The Rocky Roadster

Power: Can alter the track to create obstacles- COOKIE CLUSTER is his power up

Track: ?

We also know that the racers with copies don't have alters because these so called recolors are partially locked racers with unnamed copy karts. Unlocking them restores their karts, powers and cheering section.

Minty Zaki- Veloci-Wrapper

Power-?

Track: ?

Torvald Batterbutter ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Sticky Wipplesnit ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Adorabeezle Winterpop- The Ice Rocket

Power: creates snow; ICE CREAM CANNON is her power up

Track: Iceerod Trail

Nougesta Brumblestain- Revberry Creamer (restored)

Power: Instant Ice; her power up is COOL WHIPPED

Track: ?

Jubileena Bing-Bing- The Cherriot

Power: ?

Track: ?

Citrusella Flugpucker- ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Got it? Good. Let's go.

*GITC*

"So you're the elusive Dorian." Tamora eyed the purple haired man critically. Behind her the red headed giant continued to mumble about being stuck in the Twilight Zone while rising to his feet.

"That's a rather funny train of thought Mr. Wreckit seeing as my last name IS Twilight and you landed in my garden. You make it sound as if I've been hiding Sgt. Calhoun. Narrow mindedness annoys me. I find it simpler to avoid such nonsense all together." He shrugged. "Madame President tells me you dislike her frequent trips to visit me. Even though I've been trying to help her with her problems."

"Uh...yeah?" Ralph replied to his blatant statement of the obvious. "I dunno what you've been filling her head with but everyone knows you're not exactly on the up and up. Your help is sorta questionable."

"Really. Do tell what 'everyone' knows about me." The lead character chuckled.

"Well, you have a habit of eating people." Ralph began.

"While not essential to my survival having the occasional snack that screams is something in my code, being a demon and all. I'm not stupid enough to do it to someone who doesn't regenerate." He countered. "Next?"

"No one knows how this creepy sideshow ends. For all we know, you could be the real bad guy." Ralph continued undaunted.

"It's not my fault no player has beaten my game in the arcade. Though RPGs of our kind tend to be better suited for home gaming. As for the second part of your accusation? Pot, meet kettle." Dorian deadpanned.

"Oh yeah-?"

"Lay off Stinkbrain! There's like 60 levels in FAR but each one takes between 20 minutes to two hours to play through. Some are just missions, some have bosses, some are both. And it's an open world format so the gamers can wander around the same level forever and not get anywhere if they don't know what they're doing." Vanellope sighed."There's actually no real order to the gameplay, like in Sugar Rush. Gamers determine the pace and sequence of events by the way they play. Heck you could start at really any point, the game adjusts and goals shift. You just have to get through each one to actually finish the game. Like GTA."

"That comparison doesn't help ease our nerves sweetheart. That game is full of really bad eggs. How does that work? With the order I mean. Aren't higher numbered levels supposed to be more difficult?" Felix asked. As a veteran of the old school, such logic didn't compute with him.

"That depends on where they start. Voland's level is 18 but you need the Clé des Damnés

from his cathedral to open certain open doors on several levels above and below his. You also don't necessarily have to beat him to get it; only find it. But that means sneaking in and not being seen by any of his acolytes." Dorian tilted his head in thought. "Which is hard as all hell because he's connected to every person in Ville de l'Étoile du Matin. The closer you get to the Sanctum, the more the NPCs pay attention.

Once they put in their tokens, a screen with each level or stage appears and players select where to start. Still specific tasks must be completed in order to access certain areas, abilities, items etc; some of which are absolutely necessary, some just being extras. Once again it's hypocritical of you to dislike me because I may be the main villain of this game."

"Well are you?" Tamara questioned.

"There's not a straightforward answer to that. But, I am glad that you at least came. Hold still." The demon stepped forward with his fingertips pulsing with a black aura.

"WHAT?!"

Several things happened at once.

First, Felix jumped in front of his wife, chest puffed and brandishing his hammer. Tamora drew her side arm and flipped off the safety in one fluid motion. Ralph raised his fists to defend his friends. And Vanellope covered her eyes.

So she didn't immediately notice 3/4 of the Core Four frozen in those positions by the same dark glow. Dorian's had held his glowing left hand up, like a half hearted signal to stop. Instant freeze frame. The other hand he waved from TJ's head down. For an alarming second or two, her body became transparent, displaying internal lines of code. Quick as it happened, she returned to normal. The restrictive force vanishing.

"Interesting." He turned to Vanellope who was letting out a relieved breath. "I need only scan the little pumpkin boy and your other friends now to be certain."

"What's that supposed to mean you frea-?!" Ralph roared.

"Sgt Calhoun, what is your favorite memory of your father?" That deep voice cut the Wrecker off.

"Why do you care about my old man?" She glared. Who did he think he was?!

"It is important. What did you like most about him?"

"..." she looked away. Felix felt his heart clench at the brief sight of tears she tried to hide. "I grew up on one of the orbital colonies. My dad always went out of his way to make sure I smiled. Even when he was supposed to be researching. 'Tamora should smile more'a' he would tell me. Why did I tell you that?!"

"Because I asked politely my dear. Mr. Fixit, you got your hammer from your father correct? What made him pass it on to you?"

"When he..." Felix blinked, confused. Finding that he didn't exactly have an answer."...retired. I think? Golly, I really don't know. How strange, I've never given it much thought."

"And you Mr. Wreckit. What was life like before Niceland's construction?"

"I, uh, hung out in my stump. Just..." Ralph frowned, his mind grasping straws. What DID he do before the bulldozer came along?

"-have no idea do you? Our theory is looking more and more probable Madam President."

"What theory would that be?" Tamora folded her arms after holstering her gun.

"That the programmers somehow figured out we're alive. Over time, our backstories and worlds got more detailed because they started to consider us real." Vanellope beamed.

*GITC*

Gloyd watched Rocher pair still hidden in the tree hollow. A while ago he'd moved the albino's head from his shoulder to his lap. Something about this felt familiar. Comforting. His mind wandered as his hand ran through white locks. Bloodletting must wipe the guy out, huh? He thought to himself trying not to recall the flavor and the feeling from an hour ago.

/Only if someone gets greedy. It's usually just a few sips./ An echo sounded in his mind startling the crap out of him.

"GAH!" Who the fudge said that?!

/Calm down, you'll wake him./ the voice huffed. /I'm Applejack, remember?/

"But...where are you?"

/Inside you. Our code's all jumbled up but you finally tasting Ro's sweet blood again helped stabilize it enough for us to chat./

"Don't say that. It's weird." He shivered. It was bad enough the pumpkin boy didn't want to stop. Only du Reese's soft whimpering had brought him back to his senses. Seeing how out of it the other boy looked once he let go scared him.

/What's so weird about it? We do it all the time. He and Rancis taste so different but sooo good. The best part is they love it./ Applejack cackled. His sinister tone coupled that that disturbing laugh made it sound worse.

"Please stop talking." The trick or treater groaned. "Wait, again?! When will this nightmare end?"

/When we finally separate. My memories finally sorted out, didn't yours?/

Images of him chasing a goth kid through the a creepy field of tombstones came to mind. The normally cotton candy pink clouds dark like licorice. Despite the dreary locale, both were laughing and unafraid. Gloyd tackled him, the caramel apple hat falling away as they rolled down a small hill and onto a track starting line. One leading into a huge white sugar brick archway set against a cave. The keystone adorned with a large calavera, elaborately painted with flowers and intricate patterns in bright festive colors. The sign above it reading Sugar Skull Catacombs.

This wasn't just some random scene he dreamt up. It was part of his life that really happened. Why couldn't he recall this before?!

He saw Rocher laugh silently at the two of them. He was sliding out from under the Rocky Roadster and wiping at a grease smudge on his nose but only smearing it across his face. The sight combined with this twin's now dusty hair caused Rancis to wrinkle his nose while seated on the hood of the Kit Kart. The pretty boy prefered to use telekinesis instead of actually touching anything dirty. He couldn't understand why the other psychic boy would get covered in muck when he didn't have to. The Kernel was parked nearby, next to a casket on wheels...Hersula. Yeah. Hershula was the name of his twin brother's kart. The memory-him looked into the side mirror of his to see his own grinning face.

A pair of tiny fangs clearly visible in his mouth.

*GITC*

"So. Any ideas what just happened?" Minty blinked sharing the same befuddlement as her sisters.

The trio has been exploring, something everyone was doing as they got reaquainted with their world. They came upon one of the unlocked tracks that hadn't been chosen yet by a gamer and decided to have a little race. Hoping a new track would be challenging (no knowledge of the unlocked tracks downloaded into their minds until right before an official race so far) It resembled Gumball Gorge on Sugar Rush Speedway. Except it didn't have gumballs flying. However, them speeding through did dislodge several jawbreakers they had to outrun. Most likely why the sign said "Jawbreaker Canyon". Like a canyon. it's floor and walls rounded together forming a rough tube shape made up of layers of various yellow shades.

Anyway, Torvald was the first to hit a power up.

"CANDY SHELL!"

Her kart was surrounded by a shimmering gold bubble just in time to stop a speeding ball of hard candy she couldn't avoid. Amazingly, it collided with the bubble and ricocheted off. Right into Minty who got thrown from the VelociWrapper as it barrell rolled programmer knows how many times. She respawned at the finished the same time Torvald and Sticky crossed it. And their rides rippled, then sank into the track leaving them standing and blinking at the situation.

Right after Minty's question, two new vehicles appeared next to them.

Beside Sticky, a blue ATV. It appeared to have the body of a macaron: two cut cookie biscuits with a thick white layer of ice cream between them. The whole thing reasonable shaped like the chassis of a four wheeler. The wheels made of blue dotted Nonpareil candies, the handlebars made of sky blue and white hard candy that looked to have been braided together. Four large pixie sticks serve as the exhaust. A thick blue sauce of some kind appeared to drip all over it. Also the same color. The whole vehicle smelling of blueberries. Her eyes flashed for a second when she touched it.

"Blue Sundae Special..." she whispered.

Torvald blinked at the thing that popped up beside her. It was slightly bigger than the vehicle she'd raced with for 15 years. But... it was a freaking tank. Made to fit one person, the bright gold assault vehicle looked creamy but was hard as Ralph's head to the touch. Flecked with rainbow colored bits, the white treads on either side made of flattened jawbreaker candy. A blunt nozzle extended from the front, the cockpit open just like the other karts. It certainly didn't look very fast but she instantly recognized it.

"My Marzipanzer!" She squealed leaping on. "Oh my baby!"

Minty smiled at that. She remembered now. It seemed like it'd be slow as molasses but Torvald won quite a few races in her candy tank. How fitting that she's win it back with her own power up on her theme track.

*GITC*

Clé des Damnés- Key of the Damned

About Voland: He isn't a cameo, he's important to the story but we won't see him again for a few chapters. In case anyone cares, he's a genderswapped and deaged version of Daemon, the Supervirus from season 4 of Reboot. The way he looks, talks, his powers and his base of operations are a tribute to my favorite bad guy from that show. Hexadecimal is in second place; and I already used her masks in Parallels to describe Robin's avatar in the Karuselo de Sonĝoj kaj Koŝmaroj (Carousel of Dreams and Nightmares) MMORG they all play.

I am not a gamer. I have played games like GTA and Silent hill but the one game I have the most experience with is the Pokemon series. In all of them, there's no time limit and you pretty much wander around until something happens or you find what you're looking for. That's open world format. The best example of that would actually be Minecraft but that's labelled as true sandbox game. Whatever. My point is many games have objectives but how you complete them (if at all) depends on the mode you play in. FAR has many elements of other games rolled into it.

Now we know Torvald's track and powers. As well as her and Sticky's karts. We also know what Rancis can do, that either Applejack or Gloyd race the catacombs and they share more than just a body. Also, it's for sure that the alters are supposed to be separate racers. Several powers and tracks remain to be uncovered though. There's only two more alters to unlock; then things get crazy(er). What do you guys think so far?

Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out!

PS: Happy Turkey Day :== (gobble, gobble)


	10. Road to Ruin

This chapter is a long POV flashback. I put it here because I realized the full theory Vanellope and Dorian have worked out makes a lot less sense without the proceeding information. Bonus, we see the adorable but disturbing Voland again n_n.

First:

Recap time! Scroll down to **Got it? Good.** to skip over.

Turbo did something more than locking away memories and trying to delete Vanellope but nobody is sure just what he did. So far, we know there's several racers locked away...inside the code of other racers. There's also actually one theme track for each racer; Sugar Rush Raceway is the first in the game so King Kooky couldn't do much to it. It also explains why Vanny is the only one with a power right up until the reset. Enter Travis, a strange gamer who unlocks several of the alters. But what he did causes game changes even when he isn't playing.

Each racer has a unique ability that up until now were only available as power ups during a race. All their powers have limits during a race (5 times before a 15 sec recharge as PC, 5 times then must pass a power up as NPC to recharge)) but are almost unlimited any other time. Also, the power ups are really forms of their powers King Candy took advantage of so he could use them in races while the kids were basically sitting ducks.

There's also something really wrong with Gloyd's powers that's made Vanellope seek the help of a character most of the arcade isn't too sweet on. Dorian Twillight is the good guy of Fallen Angel's Requiem but there are doubts that he's not secretly his game's villain. The fact that the RPG style game is massive, full of plot twists and no one seems to know how his game ends isn't helping that rumor. His in game girlfriend Heather Lightheart has a relationship with another character on off hours; the two are just friends. It's also full of other strangeness that creeps out the rest of the arcade mainly because it doesn't follow the general good vs evil motif (no one is too sure who's who). There's an entire level where everyone and everything is controlled by (and worships) one character, an odd child named Voland.

Other Sugar Rush Racers are hiding something too: Both Gloyd and Applejack have a bizarre urge to drink Rocher's blood and have another connection beyond the body they share. Apparently Rancis and Rocher are both psychic (despite Rocher's ability seemingly just terrain manipulation). And of course the ever changing game atmosphere is grating on some of their nerves.

Now Turbo's back and making trouble but this time he has his sights set on the whole arcade. Something happened around the time he took over Sugar Rush that's given him an idea to get his ultimate revenge.

Vanellope vonSchweetz- The Candy Kart

Power: Teleporting (glitching)- Vanellope needs to see her destination (by visualizing it or actually seeing it) or she could end up in a worse position; her power up is called SUGAR RUSH

Track: Sugar Rush Speedway

Alter: ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Candlehead- The Ice Screamer

Power: Fire abilities- she becomes too hot for other racers to get near her; SWEET SEEKERS are the power up that contains her power as a weapon rather than defense

Track: Candlecane Lane

Alter: Cherriebomma- The Licorice Whip (a motorcycle)

Power: Creates explosions- they spring from kisses she blows; CHERRY BOMBS are her power up

Track: Twizzler Town Motor Speedway

Gloyd Orangeboar- The Kernel

Power: Chance (jinxes)- Gloyd's powers are very strange. The damage they cause is hard to fix; it may take several attempts to reset. He's terrified of his abilities but it's made worse by being activated by his emotions; JUST DESERTS is his power up

Track: ?

Alter: Applejack O'Lantern- Hershula

Power: Can swap places with anyone (or thing...)- Applejack can do this anywhere with in a game but it is limited to three racers behind or ahead of him while racing; TRICKY TREAT is his power up

Track: ?

Snowanna Rainbeau- FroCone

Power: Can phase through things; SUGAR SLIDE

Track: Rainbow Maze

Alter: Chailata Marmamocha

Power: Flight; LIGHTLY WHIPPED

Track:?

Swizzle Malarkey- The Tongue Twister

Power: Sonic Scream; LOLLI-BOOM is his power up

Track: ?

Alter: Astrotwinkle Starglazer- The Shooting Starburst

Power: Blinding flashes of light called Starbursters; He's the only one who's power up is the same as what he calls his power STARBURSTERS

Track: ?

Taffeyta Muttonfudge- Pink Lightening

Power: Elasticity: her power up is TAFFY PULL

Track: Shortcake Bluffs

Alter: Poproxie Cola- The Coke Bottlerocket

Power: Can alter the track to create liquid traps; her power up is SYRUP TRAP

Track: Old Fizziful

Crumbelina DiCaramello- The Tira Missle

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: ?

Power?

Track: ?

Rancis Fluggerbutter- The Kit Kart

Power: Telekinesis

Track: ?

Alter: Rocher du Reese- The Rocky Roadster

Power: Can alter the track to create obstacles- COOKIE CLUSTER is his power up

Track: ?

We also know that the racers with copies don't have alters because these so called recolors are partially locked racers with unnamed copy karts. Unlocking them restores their karts, powers and cheering section.

Minty Zaki- Veloci-Wrapper

Power-?

Track: ?

Torvald Batterbutter- Marzipanzer

Power: Forcefield; CANDY SHELL

Track: Jawbreaker Canyon

Sticky Wipplesnit- Blue Sundae Special

Power: ?

Track: ?

Adorabeezle Winterpop- The Ice Rocket

Power: creates snow; ICE CREAM CANNON is her power up

Track: Iceerod Trail

Nougesta Brumblestain- Revberry Creamer (restored)

Power: Instant Ice; her power up is COOL WHIPPED

Track: ?

Jubileena Bing-Bing- The Cherriot

Power: ?

Track: ?

Citrusella Flugpucker- ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

**Got it? Good. Let's go.**

16 years ago...

Alt C

The digital underground of Game Central Station. A crowded sub city where the unplugged congregated. If they knew of it before their game's demise. It's citizens weren't keen on letting others know of their home simply because space was at a premium. This is where Turbo ended up sometime, a long time, after Turbo Time and Roadblasters got unplugged. Once he got tired of dodging the Surge Protector and really anyone else. He happened upon the safe haven by sheer dumb luck. Getting stuck between the entrance of GCS and a new game as it was plugged into his old socket. As he fell, only the letters DAYTON caught his eye. Then he found himself in the depths of Alt C.

But he was far from welcome here.

From the instant he claimed his little piece of limbo, Turbo found himself an outcast. The act of game jumping was no longer a harmless activity done after arcade hours. Interactions between consoles were now strictly regulated by unspoken taboos. You had to have a valid reason like a Bad Anon meeting, a new game welcoming committee or something. Getting stuck outside your game became more than an accidental slip. Now you were "Going Turbo" and threatening the safety of two games. Messing with the program.

The beatings stopped but he endured the shunning there for nearly a year.

It was because of him that Alt C had become so crowded. Forced to live in what would later be described as Silent Hill meets Resident Evil and colliding full on with anything made by Cyberdreams Interactive Entertainment. Dark and eerie, a far cry from the atmospheres of most places residents had originated from. One small mercy granted to them was the part of their coding requiring such things as rest and nourishment of any kind severed the instant they became an Alt C resident. A fact little Jane pointed out to her protector Jack 2 when she remembered Qbert and his crew were starving in GCS. There was now, however, the ever present danger of permanent deletion without a way to regenerate one's code. The main reason most never left their sanctuary; why Jack 2 refused her pleas to help those who had yet to find Alt C for themselves. The possibility of being mistaken for another "Turbo" too likely for an attempt. His programming told him her safety came first.

Damage took weeks to heal instead of the instant refresh. If it healed at all. This was a fact some refugees from the Tekken 2 and Virtua Fighter 1 and 2 games beat into rhe wayward racer repeatedly his first week there. Stomping him into the ground just short of total code failure then leaving him to suffer, licking his wounds.

Self deletion happened when sprites couldn't take it anymore.

Before, it wasn't uncommon for orphaned characters to take up residence in other games so long as they remained unseen during work. Now fear of ending up like Roadblasters had made such hospitality a thing of the past. That all changed when several characters began to vanish in late 1996. While the new breathing room was nothing to sneeze at, the circumstances were unsettling.

"Where the hell is Tony?" Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (From Captain America and the Avengers) said out of the blue. When their game was replaced by Xmen back in 92, he and Iron Man had been leaving Tapper's. No one knew the console was about to be swapped out until the delivery guy was loading the star spangled unit onto the truck. "Yo, Miahima, you seen that idiot?"

"No. I ain't seen Jack or Jane since yesterday either. Come to think of it that Icarus kid is missing too." The former boss from Tekken 2 shook his head. "I don't like this."

"That little freak's gone too. He better not have something to do with this..." Cyberdemon snarled.

Curiosity got the better of our turbotastic little friend. Employing all his years of stealth being a necessity, he snuck out to the level above a few hours before Litwak's was set to open one day. Unfortunately, he may have been seen by Paperboy. Panicking, he dove into a socket. Instead of slipping through the crack as he intended, he ended up in a monorail car that shot off the instant he face planted on the floor. The gap happened to exist on a area that required him to press against a space on the nose of the rail car that no one in their right mind would even consider to be a hidden door.

Once he stopped, he found himself in another station. Full of NPCs going about their lives. Each paying him no mind at all. Hold on...

A pale hulking form dressed in a green tank top, camo pants and combat boots walked by. Same blonde Mohawk. Same tiny sailor suited figure seated on his shoulder. Jack and Jane both looked way more high res than he remembered but there was no mistaking who they were. She chatted away, about what Turbo couldn't hear. He could see it made the android smile and occasionally reply.

The pair had never been antagonistic to him. In fact, the girl had pitied him. Her pleas and puppy dog eyes kept the welcoming mob from tearing him apart that first day. Though he occasionally wished she'd just let them kill him, he was grateful for her help and she was his only friend. Jack pretty much just tolerated him for her sake but is was clear the warmachine DID NOT LIKE HIM. Mainly because violence erupted sporadically around white and red jumpsuits and his charge could be hurt. Still, them vanishing had prompted his excursion.

How were they here, acting like they belonged in this game?

"Turbo! Hi!" she cheered seeing him. Jack let her down and she ran to hug him. "You found it!"

"Jane? What's going on? Found what?"

"Our new home silly. Follow the arrows to the Sanctum and we can be together again."

"Yes. She has been hoping you would come here soon. It was all she talked about since we arrived." Her guardian nodded, lifting her up once more and continuing onward to the city above.

Um...okay...

Seeing as no one seemed interested in wailing on him, he decided to follow her instruction. The path of blinking white arrows led him to a large ornate church building. Seeing the guard made him reconsider his choice but to his amazement the scary figure stepped aside and he double doors opened. Following the long hallway, he came upon a wide open room. The royal purple carpeting making a path over the white marble to a throne. The windows were so big and numerous, there wasn't any need for candles or lamps yet gothic multi tiered floor length candle stands were present. An intricate chandelier adorned with gold and crystals suspended over the very center of the space.

" 'Ello lost one." A young voice greeted from behind him. "I see you 'ave found you way to zee light. Welcome Monsieur Turbo."

So caught up in the sheer majesty of it all, he failed to notice he wasn't alone. Startled, he whiped around.

The being before him was...odd. Beautiful but odd. His (her?) color scheme all wrong for the character to be human. An alien or something? That was currently popular right? They were floating too. Then again grey skin with yellow eyes and teeth and no hair didn't exactly scream healthy so who was he to judge?

Wait. This sprite knew who he was. This game, Something Angel, was new. It showed up around the time people started to disappear! He'd only run in here to avoid getting caught. Were they hunting down orphaned characters? Did this strange sprite want to delete him for his crimes?! Was that the price of sanctuary here? Getting a sweet girl to rat him out?

"Are you all right? I said, my name ees Voland. Welcome to zhe Sanctum, my base. Would you like to belong? 'Ear and embrace zhe word?" It took a while to realize this boy (pretty sure they were male by now) had been speaking during his little internal meltdown. Voland looked down at him with warm, concerned white eyes.

"What does that mean?" Turbo ventured, not fully trusting this new person.

" 'Ere, all are welcome. Ville de l'Étoile du Matin ees a city of second chances. I know of you and your...shall we say, faux pas? Oui, faux pas." He looked thoughtful before nodding his head as if deciding something final. "But everyone makes mistakes, non? My domain ees open to all who are willing to embrace zhe word. You will be reborn in zhis format to live in 'armony."

Reprogrammed.

That's what he meant. And Voland's pretty words didn't even try to disguise his intentions. Turbo plainly saw several characters that had gone MIA on his trek here. All looking happy and serene. All matching the graphics design of this world. If he had not known them in Alt C he would have mistaken them for natives. That fact had spurred his interest as he moved. But as he did, he began to feel uneasy. Why were they all so happy? Why didn't they bother to let anyone know they had found paradise?

Now he knew. Simply put, they couldn't. This 'word' had to be code for 'his will'.

Fuck that. He was done being controlled. Being hurt. Done with paying for his only mistake over and over. This purple freak was mistaken in thinking he'd be his puppet. He refused to lose the one thing he still owned. His freedom.

"Nuts to that kid. I'm a champion racer. Not some no name NPC." He snapped.

"You could race again. You are not the only racer to discover our city. Just as zhere are fighterss, explorers, other ordinary characters doing what zhey love." That gentle smile didn't falter one bit from the rude refusal.

"I ain't stupid. I'd never be picked by a gamer! I'd just be a face in the crowd. You want me to cower in the background of this kooky place and obey you. Turbo don't take orders from no one. Especially some snot nosed brat."

"Then where will you go? Back to zhat dungeon where you are 'ated and reviled?" Voland circled around the racer. Daintily hovering above the ground. His words still soft but slowly taking on a sharp mocking edge. "You would refuse a chance at redemption?"

"Why not? Why should you be the only one to rule a game without question? All the shit I've taken for the last decade, I deserve to be on top not someone's lap dog."

"Very well." The boy shrugged. "I prefer my children to join me willingly. None who 'ave stayed were forced. Zhose who wish to leave may. But to allow you to pose such a clear threat goes against my programing. Zhereore, you must be deleted."

"WHAT?!"

THOOM!

A sphere of white hot energy struck the area Turbo had been standing, leaving a scorched crater of melted tile. Having the sense to move saved him but not without taking some damage. His right boot had caught on fire. Stop drop and rolle wasn't an option at this point. A rapid succession of these death balls put to use all those years of dodging bullies. All the while Voland just watched him scramble for his life. He didn't seem to be firing or summoning them. Where the heck were they coming from then?!

"You will not escape." Voland called as the fallen racer ran like his bitmap was on fire (it totally was) from the cathedral and onto the street. Ever docile, the tone did nothing to disguise the threat in those words. NPCs regarded him warily, parting as he weaved through the crowd. Refusing to come in contact with him.

"Ha! Looks like your pets ain't as loyal as you'd like, huh?" he cackled in response.

Still within his Sanctum, Level 18's boss frowned. His guard came rushing in having heard the noise. Holding up a tiny hand he silenced the questions on the tip of their tongues. His eyes narrowing caused a few to tremble in fear.

"Hm. Do not worry. All ees well." Slowly, the devil child descended toward the ground. Stopping when only the toe of his left boot came in contact the the floor. A wave of green energy spidering along, radiating outwards from the point the purple footwear touched. It swept out over the entire city. Each spirit it came in contact with had their eyes flash green. Slowly everything came to a stop.

/This can't be good./ Turbo noted that no one moved even if he was coming right at them. They all stood stock still looking towards the bright blue sky.

"My children, there is a dangerous element among you. A blasphemer who 'as rejected zhe word and threatens out 'ome. 'E must be eliminated. Civilians, do not endanger yourselves. Warriors, delete 'im on sight!" Angry words reverberated throughout the level.

"Yes my lord." They all acknowledged. And dozens of heads swerved to his position.

"Crud. Me and my big mouth-" WHAM! "WHOA!"

Embedded in the wall to his right, a very large short handled hammer. The metal portion bound to the wood by a sinewy twine. Idly, Turbo thought, if he survived all this, he could at least tell the Boomerang Brothers their hammer wielding brethren hadn't decided to go through with their suicide pact.

Instead he was more concerned with getting away from the duo. Looking nothing like the basic Super Mario villain design, the two squat reptiles were now six feet tall and more humanoid in shape with longer legs, arms and muscular bodies. Their shells less bulbous and bulky. Their boots, helmets and shell fronts looking like something out of Mad Max.

Squeezing his smaller body through a wrought iron fence he managed to give them the slip. Only to step in the path of an ARC reactor blast. He could recognize the sound of those thrusters anywhere. After he stopped rolling, the glimmer of red and gold got his attention.

Oh look. He found Tony.

He was so fragged.

"End of the line you little glitch." Iron Man fired again. Turbo was thrown into a storm drain too small for the hero to follow. Hooray again for being vertically challenged, he thought sourly. Reduced to hiding in a fragging sewer. Drawning himself up, he noticed he's fallen onto some freaky teardrop shaped black gem. It pulsed weakly before shattering and dousing him in dark sparkles. Great! Now what?

Pondering this took a back seat to the vibrations coming his way. Something big was headed for him. Then there was that mind warping roar...

Taking up the entire (relatively large) pipe, a massive green monster. Looking like a dragon got it on with an octopus then raped some poor humanoid. There was no where to go. His last thought of pure terror as his vision when red.

Satisfied his master's will had been carried out, the beast lumbered deeper into it's lair.

Not noticing the black jewel that appeared over the spot it's prey had perished in. The monster was too far away to hear it shatter and release a traumatized but respawned racer from within.

Voland had just unwittingly given Turbo the idea and part of the means to once again be a beloved arcade favorite.

*GITC*

Okay, first the characters inhabiting Alt C/ Games referenced:

Alt C it self is just shortening the words Alternating Current. It's also a reference to the keyboard copy command.

DAYTON: the partial name of Daytona, USA. A dual cabinet racing game. In my head cannon this is the game that eventually ends up in Turbotime's spot.

Kazuya Mishima: Asshole character from the Tekken games. Seriously, fighting him in any version sucks ass.

Jack 2 : A robotic soldier programmed to react to emotionally trying scenarios be developing a conscience and mind of his own in the Tekken series.

Jane: A sickly girl who lost her mother in the uprising the Jack 2 units were sent to quell. Finding her activates his hidden programming. Protecting her is all that matters to him.

Silent Hill: A survival horror game that had not yet come out (it debuts in 99, this chapter takes place in 95-96); hence the phrase "would come to be described as".

Resident Evil: Survival horror game from 96.

Cyberdreams: A game company known for making disturbing horror games, only one of which had been made into a console game by the time this takes place. And went out of business in 97.

Virtua Fighter: Initially horrible series I swear is only worth playing around the third or fourth installation.

Clint "Hawkeye" Barton and Tony "Iron Man" Stark: two of the three playable characters from the misleadingly named Captain America and the Avengers Game which debuted in 92. Three characters do not an Avengers team make Capcom...

Kid Icarus: A cult classic from Nintendo. The winged kid is actually named Pit. Random fact no one asked about- His Japanese name Pitto (ピット) is from Kyūpitto (キューピット), the roman god Cupid written in katakana.

Cyberdemon: A boss from DOOM.

Hammer Bros/Boomerang Bros: Types of bipedal Koopa Troopas that throw their namesakes at players in various versions of Super Mario.

Alone in the Dark: Yeah, that's Cthulhu who kills Turbo in the sewer. Not too different from the subterranean maze where you find him in this game.

The Black Jewels are extra lives hidden in the game Fallen Angel's Requiem. Because of how the game was designed, they work for ANYONE who finds one while inside FAR.

So, whatcha think? How am I doin' with giving depth to the Disney characters as well as my OCs? Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out!


	11. Derailed

Sup! Happy holidays. Whatver you may or may not celebrate this time of year, consider this chapter a gift. I sorta put a halt on all my fics because the 35 page report I'd been working on since August VANISHED off my hard drive three weeks before it was due. So that lil crisis put the kibosh on really anything that was not related to that Business 116 report. Yeah...

Then of course something that happens with me constantly occurred: I fell in love with a not really new anime. One Piece. Specifically the character Trafalgar Law, the Surgeon of Death. Sadistic sonnuva bitch he is.

Here's the deal, if you've read my Megalomaniac fic, you know I regard DIC, FUNmation and 4Kids as the Axis of Evil in the anime world. One having redeemed it self by having the decency to go out of business (DIC) and another getting their heads outta their asses in the 2000's (FUNmation). However, I cannot watch a 4 Kids dub of ANY anime without wanting to kill myself. The dialog is cheesy, the editing is mind boggling at best (a lot of english episodes happened to be patchworked together from 2 or 3 originals because they cut out so much the run time was almost nothing...) and worst of all I really don't think they've seen more than half a season of any shows they've dubbed before beginning to hack it up for a younger audience than intended. Pokemon (and people) can totally die in battle or any other somewhat logical circumstance. The number of guns and really mature crap erased from Yugioh is absurd. And at some point someone figured out "Hey as goofy as this show about pirates and magic fruit is on the surface HOLY FUCK DOES SOME HEAVY SHIT HAPPEN IN IT! WHY DID WE DUB THIS FOR 8 YEAR OLDS!? Do we employ no one who speaks actual Japanese!? Or possesses basic cognitive reasoning!?"

Google those idiots. See how many anime they started. Then dropped around the time shit got real OR their weird changes no longer held any semblance of plot. Or sense.

Rant over.

Recap time! Scroll down to **Got it? Good.** to skip over.

There's something really wrong with Gloyd's powers that's made Vanellope seek the help of a character most of the arcade isn't too sweet on. Dorian Twillight is the good guy of Fallen Angel's Requiem but there are doubts that he's not secretly his game's villain. The fact that the RPG style game is massive, full of plot twists and no one seems to know how his game ends isn't helping that rumor. His in game girlfriend Heather Lightheart has a relationship with another character on off hours; the two are just friends. It's also full of other strangeness that creeps out the rest of the arcade mainly because it doesn't follow the general good vs evil motif (no one is too sure who's who). There's an entire level where everyone and everything is controlled by (and cultishly worships) one character, an odd child named Voland.

Other things are being hidden too: Both Gloyd and Applejack have a bizarre urge to drink blood and have another connection beyond the body they share. Apparently Rancis and Rocher are both psychic (despite Rocher's ability seemingly just terrain manipulation). And of course the ever changing game atmosphere is grating on some of their nerves.

Now Turbo's back and making trouble but this time he has his sights set on the whole arcade. Recalling his fatal encounter with Voland in FAR first inspired him to take over Sugar Rush. Now he's set his sights on the whole arcade.

Vanellope vonSchweetz- The Candy Kart

Power: Teleporting (glitching)- Vanellope needs to see her destination (by visualizing it or actually seeing it) or she could end up in a worse position; her power up is called SUGAR RUSH

Track: Sugar Rush Speedway

Alter: ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Candlehead- The Ice Screamer

Power: Fire abilities- she becomes too hot for other racers to get near her; SWEET SEEKERS are the power up that contains her power as a weapon rather than defense

Track: Candlecane Lane

Alter: Cherriebomma- The Licorice Whip (a motorcycle)

Power: Creates explosions- they spring from kisses she blows; CHERRY BOMBS are her power up

Track: Twizzler Town Motor Speedway

Gloyd Orangeboar- The Kernel

Power: Chance (jinxes)- Gloyd's powers are very strange. The damage they cause is hard to fix; it may take several attempts to reset. He's terrified of his abilities but it's made worse by being activated by his emotions; JUST DESERTS is his power up

Track: ?

Alter: Applejack O'Lantern- Hershula

Power: Can swap places with anyone (or thing...)- Applejack can do this anywhere with in a game but it is limited to three racers behind or ahead of him while racing; TRICKY TREAT is his power up

Track: ?

Snowanna Rainbeau- FroCone

Power: Can phase through things; SUGAR SLIDE

Track: Rainbow Maze

Alter: Chailata Marmamocha

Power: Flight; LIGHTLY WHIPPED

Track:?

Swizzle Malarkey- The Tongue Twister

Power: Sonic Scream; LOLLI-BOOM is his power up

Track: ?

Alter: Astrotwinkle Starglazer- The Shooting Starburst

Power: Blinding flashes of light called Starbursters; He's the only one who's power up is the same as what he calls his power STARBURSTERS

Track: ?

Taffeyta Muttonfudge- Pink Lightening

Power: Elasticity: her power up is TAFFY PULL

Track: Shortcake Bluffs

Alter: Poproxie Cola- The Coke Bottlerocket

Power: Can alter the track to create liquid traps; her power up is SYRUP TRAP

Track: Old Fizziful

Crumbelina DiCaramello- The Tira Missle

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: ?

Power?

Track: ?

Rancis Fluggerbutter- The Kit Kart

Power: Telekinesis

Track: ?

Alter: Rocher du Reese- The Rocky Roadster

Power: Can alter the track to create obstacles- COOKIE CLUSTER is his power up

Track: ?

Minty Zaki- Veloci-Wrapper

Power-?

Track: ?

Torvald Batterbutter- Marzipanzer (restored)

Power: Forcefield; CANDY SHELL

Track: Jawbreaker Canyon

Sticky Wipplesnit- Blue Sundae Special (restored)

Power: ?

Track: ?

Adorabeezle Winterpop- The Ice Rocket

Power: creates snow; ICE CREAM CANNON is her power up

Track: Iceerod Trail

Nougesta Brumblestain- Revberry Creamer (restored)

Power: Instant Ice; her power up is COOL WHIPPED

Track: ?

Jubileena Bing-Bing- The Cherriot

Power: ?

Track: ?

Citrusella Flugpucker- ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Anyhoo, last chapter was not part of it is relevant and important. Meant to supplement this chapter and show how when someone is not given the chance to repent, they often fall further into damnation. Hate is a very ugly thing and rarely are monsters born. We learned that Turbo never thought things would go so far with Roadblasters and he actually felt bad for what he'd done...

**Got it? Good. Let's go.**

"You wanna run that by us again?" Calhoun frowned. "So gamers are aware of the crap we go through?"

"The average gamer, no. Programmers, yes." Dorian nodded. "The questions I asked you are proof of it. As games became more advanced, it was only logical that they would have more areas to explore. Character bios would get more complex. The two of you only have vague recollections of an existence before your opening screen. While the Sargent, Madame President and myself have defined memories of our childhoods. For instance I recall being in hiding with my mother most of my time as a young boy because she bore the son of a demon. Madam President got her first kart from her father, the real King Candy who died which logically made her ruler."

"It was really trippy remembering all the good times I had with my daddy as well as all the crud I went through cuz of a nutbar wearing his face. Mama died when I was born. But I have pictures of her in my room. And all the things daddy used to tell me about her in his journals." Vanellope looked down. The girl desperately trying not to cry.

"Memories aside, as much as at least 30% of each game in the arcade consists areas the players never see much less enter. Yet they exist and things do happen in them. My apartment building and these gardens are not part of the game play. Nor are many parts of Voland's city. The map players acquire clearly shows the layout of Blackmist Island on level 7 to be 2 maritime port cities separated by a large forest but creatures prevent you from entering said forest or the connecting road to pass into the other town. You either land on one side or the other." He brushed back a stray purple lock of hair. "Even yours as old as it is has off screen areas the game could not function without."

"Hey!"

Ralph...did not like Dorian. It was bad enough the guy was creepy but was apparently psychotic (talked about eating other characters like he was eating a sandwich; saw nothing wrong with a whole city being controlled by a demonic child) as well and talked in a snooty way that made the wrecker think the demon was looking down on them. Vanny spending so much time alone with this joker alarmed him more than he cared to admit. Now he had her believing some hooey about people outside the games knowing they were real. If that's true, then what kind of sadist would trap so many in roles they can't stand? Force them to live out the same terrible lives day in and day out with no hope of change? What kind of monster shoves people in a box for the amusement of others? What gives?!

Felix on the other hand was having an existential crisis and trying to cover it with his trademark nervous grin. As much as his hammer defined him, as much as he talked about getting it from his father, for the first time he realized he had no recollection of when that happened. Or barely any memories of his father period. His whole life had been Niceland and it's upkeep. But now, he questioned everything about that. You could say the incident with Ralph game jumping opened his eyes a bit. He'd been wondering just how much of their personas and such were programmed in and how much was the result of experiences. He knew his console wasn't the only Fix-It Felix Jr in the world. Somewhere in another arcade, is that Raph still miserable and alone? In yet another after quittin time, another Ralph and Felix could have been good friends from the moment they were plugged in. What if one version of him was a total jerk outside of game play and his co star a soft spoken teddy bear?

TJ didn't even try to hide how upset she was. How dare that bastard remind her of her dead father! Mama never was what one would call 'lady-like', 'delicate' or 'docile'. Her father used to tell her that was part of her charm; a woman who could handle herself as well as any other soldier has fallen for a geek like him. But watching the man she loved get blown to hell didn't exactly help her attitude. She raised her daughter to never depend on anyone; everyone's human so they have the ability to let you down. You can just as easily let them down. Major Sargent Jeanette Gloria Havok herself became known as the Iron Maiden of her Corp for her philosophy, a name she actually treasured. Because it's what her husband often called her. What Dorian was saying...that meant some assholes were sitting around thinking of the worst possible backstories to give real feeling beings for the sake of entertainment.

"I know it sounds bad but it's really not. The them knowing about us part." Vanelope spoke up, pulling the 3 from their thoughts. "See, they figured out we pretty much die without a game right? Level 18 of FAR is the largest one. It takes up the most memory cuz it's always expanding. It was designed as a new home for gameless characters."

"Yeah, I'm not sure I'd like to live in a place ruled by that weird purple kid even if Hero's Duty got the heave-ho." TJ snorted. "Looks like everyone there had some kind of lobotomy."

"The people we met did seem...um...a scooch too docile to really have free will." Felix agreed.

"Well, consider this. Do you think a character used to ruling over minions would take being knocked down to everyone else's level very well? Voland's thrall insures they won't go Turbo as it's called and hijack the game. Gives everyone a chance to live in peace. It's actually why the subway takes first time visitors straight to him. Codes it doesn't recognize it assumes are orphans in need of 'The Word'. No one is forced to remain of course. Madame President was allowed to leave the Sanctum, as were you. But obvious threats, unstable entities that will cause trouble if left unchecked are deleted if they refuse to yield. This is what happened to Turbo."

"Well Voland obviously messed up cuz that lil guttersnipe didn't bite the dust until ol' Ham Hands here nuked him." TJ laughed.

"Actually, a previously unknown quirk of our game allowed him to escape his fate. When Voland ordered his deletion, it was carried out. But not before Turbo stumbled on to a God Tear. A gem that grants extra life. Until him, we did no know it's power was active outside gameplay. Much less able to preserve those not yet part of our game. And that is where the second part of our theory come into play."

*GITC*

With his strength returning, Turbo decided to test his boundaries for the sake of progress. Things just weren't moving as fast as he would like. The malevolent program was now hiding in several characters from Street Fighter, Grand Theft and Mortal Kombat. That bookish twit seemed the perfect one to spread his virus. All he had to do was let her walk through him to contaminate her! By opening time, he expected to see at least two or three games crippled and one unsalvageable. Yet here it was a quarter to 3 and not so much as an error screen. Some of the games were vaccinating it before it could take root in their code cores. Or were just plain immune. He must be getting rusty with his hacking skills;the strain didn't seem as virulent as he hoped.

Hmph. Well, just a matter of going back to the drawing board then.

Still invisible but hoping to cross into the game still anchoring him, he went further than the outlet entrance of Sugar Rush for the first time in weeks. He needed to be at full strength to carry out his plan and recharging here would certainly boost his recovery. Of course it would be easy to slip in again. The game should still recognize him as apart of it. What with all the measures he left in plac-

His thoughts were cut off by rainbow bridge breaking up under his feet. Chunks of the sparkly multicolored Airhead path falling away into the ether below. Backpedaling, he scrambled to the exit to avoid falling into the unknown void. Once back in the tram area, he watched in irritation as it reformed.

"Those gamer damned sentinels are active again!" he snarled. He made sure to neutralize them as King Kandy! Everything was going wrong, wrong, WRONG! Those codes shouldn't have come undone just because of the reset.

Unless that little glitch happened to be smarter than she looked. Or she had help...

*GITC*

Still hidden in a hollow tree in the Taffy Swamp, Gloyd looked to his left, not really sure why. Something...weird was happening in that direction. Far away but in that directions. Even though he couldn't actually see it, something made him turn in that way. A reflex? A familiar reflex...

"What the-"

/You sense it too? Good. Something just tried to enter the game./ Applejack's voice entered his thoughts again.

"I've never felt that before. People come and go all the time."

/Yeah well this time something bad tried to get in. But it's gone now. I think Ro stopped it./

"Wha? He's asleep."

In his lap, Rocher stirred for the first time in a while. Repositioning himself to give the other boy a clear view of his peaceful face.

And his ruby eyes glowing when they opened. He looked up at his pillow with a dazed expression. Like he was in a trance. After a few seconds, they returned to normal and the albino blinked in confusion.

"Um, did you feel anything just now?" The pumpkin boy asked, feeling kind of stupid for even acknowledging the voice in his head. For all he knew, the weirdness of the last few days was finally getting to him and he'd cracked.

To his suprise, after a very cute yawn (where did that come from?!) Rocher nodded. The two kind of just stared at each other for a while after that, not really sure what to do next. Orangeboar's thoughts wandered to how soft and pale the other boy's skin was. He'd noticed it when laying him down after...um...that thing. Now he was thinking about how that was the most delicious thing he'd ever drunk. The fact that it had been his friend's blood no longer bothering him. For some reason, his cheeks and ears felt really hot all of a sudden.

{Your face is red. Are you okay?}

About then the heat in his cheeks and ears magnified ten fold.

And now, he reeaally wanted to pass out from embarrassment.

*GITC*

Aw...poor pumpkinhead.

And Turbutt's plans aren't playing out like he wants either. But don't feel sorry for that dick.

The next part of the theory is coming soon.

Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out!


	12. Information Overload

Okay. Just a heads up.

I understand the basics of how the magic box known more commonly as a computer works. I am perfectly capable of Googling error messages rather than hand my devices over to someone paid to fix it and have them do the exact same thing (Shut up, I've seen Geeksquad do it) and when to go 'fuck it, get a new one'. But if knowledge of a subject could be physically quantified, what I understand about actual computer programing MIGHT half fill a Dixie cup. Heavy on the might.

See endnotes for better explanation.

Recap time! Scroll down to **Got it? Good.** to skip over.

There's something really wrong with Gloyd's powers that's made Vanellope seek the help of a character most of the arcade isn't too sweet on. Dorian Twilight is the good guy of Fallen Angel's Requiem but there are doubts that he's not secretly his game's villain. The fact that the RPG style game is massive, full of plot twists and no one seems to know how his game ends isn't helping that rumor. His in game girlfriend Heather Lightheart has a relationship with another character on off hours; the two are just friends. It's also full of other strangeness that creeps out the rest of the arcade mainly because it doesn't follow the general good vs evil motif (no one is too sure who's who). There's an entire level where everyone and everything is controlled by (and cultish worships) one character, an odd child named Voland.

Other things are being hidden too: Both Gloyd and Applejack have a bizarre urge to drink blood and have another connection beyond the body they share. Apparently Rancis and Rocher are both psychic (despite Rocher's ability seemingly just terrain manipulation). And of course the ever changing game atmosphere is grating on some of their nerves.

Now Turbo's back and making trouble but this time he has his sights set on the whole arcade. Recalling his fatal encounter with Voland in FAR first inspired him to take over Sugar Rush. Now he's set his sights on the whole arcade.

Vanellope vonSchweetz- The Candy Kart

Power: Teleporting (glitching)- Vanellope needs to see her destination (by visualizing it or actually seeing it) or she could end up in a worse position; her power up is called SUGAR RUSH

Track: Sugar Rush Speedway

Alter: ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

Candlehead- The Ice Screamer

Power: Fire abilities- she becomes too hot for other racers to get near her; SWEET SEEKERS are the power up that contains her power as a weapon rather than defense

Track: Candlecane Lane

Alter: Cherriebomma- The Licorice Whip (a motorcycle)

Power: Creates explosions- they spring from kisses she blows; CHERRY BOMBS are her power up

Track: Twizzler Town Motor Speedway

Gloyd Orangeboar- The Kernel

Power: Chance (jinxes)- Gloyd's powers are very strange. The damage they cause is hard to fix; it may take several attempts to reset. He's terrified of his abilities but it's made worse by being activated by his emotions; JUST DESERTS is his power up

Track: ?

Alter: Applejack O'Lantern- Hershula

Power: Can swap places with anyone (or thing...)- Applejack can do this anywhere with in a game but it is limited to three racers behind or ahead of him while racing; TRICKY TREAT is his power up

Track: ?

Snowanna Rainbeau- FroCone

Power: Can phase through things; SUGAR SLIDE

Track: Rainbow Maze

Alter: Chailata Marmamocha

Power: Flight; LIGHTLY WHIPPED

Track:?

Swizzle Malarkey- The Tongue Twister

Power: Sonic Scream; LOLLI-BOOM is his power up

Track: ?

Alter: Astrotwinkle Starglazer- The Shooting Starburst

Power: Blinding flashes of light called Starbursters; He's the only one who's power up is the same as what he calls his power STARBURSTERS

Track: ?

Taffeyta Muttonfudge- Pink Lightening

Power: Elasticity: her power up is TAFFY PULL

Track: Shortcake Bluffs

Alter: Poproxie Cola- The Coke Bottlerocket

Power: Can alter the track to create liquid traps; her power up is SYRUP TRAP

Track: Old Fizziful

Crumbelina DiCaramello- The Tira Missle

Power: ?

Track: ?

Alter: ?

Power?

Track: ?

Rancis Fluggerbutter- The Kit Kart

Power: Telekinesis

Track: ?

Alter: Rocher du Reese- The Rocky Roadster

Power: Can alter the track to create obstacles- COOKIE CLUSTER is his power up

Track: ?

Minty Zaki- Veloci-Wrapper

Power-?

Track: ?

Torvald Batterbutter- Marzipanzer (restored)

Power: Forcefield; CANDY SHELL

Track: Jawbreaker Canyon

Sticky Wipplesnit- Blue Sundae Special (restored)

Power: ?

Track: ?

Adorabeezle Winterpop- The Ice Rocket

Power: creates snow; ICE CREAM CANNON is her power up

Track: Iceerod Trail

Nougesta Brumblestain- Revberry Creamer (restored)

Power: Instant Ice; her power up is COOL WHIPPED

Track: ?

Jubileena Bing-Bing- The Cherriot

Power: ?

Track: ?

Citrusella Flugpucker- ?

Power: ?

Track: ?

**Got it? Good. Let's go.**

Blank stares.

"Each game has guards of some fashion or another. Sentinels. Ones whose purpose is either to keep threats in, out or some combination. For instance, Voland's type is known as Daemon Class Sentinel, the group with the widest array of abilities. His power unifies those under his rule in a utopian world, commanding absolute obedience from his subjects. Those not coded into this game are taken to him the first time they enter FAR. You Sargeant, are a Soldier of Fortune Class, as I suspect your charming mother is as well. Your programing insures you prevent cybugs escaping your game. In the off chance they do, you hunt them down and destroy them by any means necessary. To hell with the collateral damage. You were fully prepared to destroy an entire game to prevent mass infection if not for Mr. Wreck-It's valiant efforts were you not?" He ignored her horrified expression. "Though said heroics would have been quite moot if Mr. Wreck-It had not been so despondent about his station. A situation I consider the fault of a laundry list of inane actions and inactions but I digress."

"That's why you scanned me?!" Tamora glared. This bastard was implying that she was a ruthless thug that got the job done no matter who died in the process. She'd admit to being a little rough around the edges, like mother like daughter. But to say they were both heartless...

"Hold it right there Mr There's a Stick All the Way Up My Fanny. You just called my lady love a mercenary! It's not like she didn't try to get the cybugs before they multiplied. She nearly blew up the entrance AFTER she evacuated Sugar Rush first! You sir are a pompous jackass! Where the hell do you get this bullshit!?" Roared from the level about Tamora's waist.

Ralph: Blink.

Tamora: Blink.

Vanellope: Blink.

Felix: Blink. Blink.

"Oh my land..." The Fixer covered his mouth.

None of them had ever heard the hammer wielding hero so angry. Ralph'd definitely never heard him curse in all their 30 years together. Not with real dirty words anyhow. He looked ready to tear Dorian apart for a second. Reaching for his hammer as if he could do damage with it.

That look of rage was disturbing on the usually cheerful sprite. Of course Dorian Twilight just smirked.

"You Mr. Fix-it are, quite ironically, a Berzerker Class Sentinel as is Mr. Wreck-It. With sufficient motivation, I'm sure you're far more destructive than your colleague. The problem is you are coded with so many layers to keep it under control you've never even noticed. No one has. When you were created, threats were still big and bad but far less common. Any that arose were probably handled by Mr. Wreck-It. Be flattered Sargent, to break through some much restrictive programming over a perceived insult to you shows his love. Unfortunately Mr. Fix-it when you finally do go completely off, I seriously doubt you will have much control over your actions."

"And before somebody goes postal, it's not something you can chose not to do. It's part of you. Felix, he worded it like that just to tee you off and prove his point." Vanny interjected, glaring at the purple headed demon who merely shrugged. She sighed but continued. "Your class is the first ever created, back when they were just sorting this all out. Almost all the games from your time are patrolled by Berzerkers. Soldiers of Fortune came next then Daemons. Each has different functions. There's others classes too."

"Okay. Say we believe this just for the sake of argument." Ralph raked through his hair with a massive hand. "Why don't we know this already? It'd be helpful as hell. It also seems like all of us are so what are you two? And, what's to keep Sentinels from taking over their games or others if they're so powerful?"

"Um, something about programming limits. Daemons are super strong but their primary functions have to be activated by really specific circumstances. Voland doesn't leave the game to get followers cuz he can't. Well he could leave FAR but he can't infect anyone if he does." Vanellope looked thoughtful for a second. "Um, actually that's just a guess. We don't really know what he's capable of outside the game. Haven't gotten quite that far in figuring stuff out. Oh, and I'm not a sentinel cuz...I'm just not."

"Whoa there. Infect?!"

"His thrall, which permeates his entire level, is actually an infection. Some Sentinels, particularly Daemons, are essentially viruses." Dorian tapped his chin, feigning surprise. "Did I forget to mention that?"

*GITC*

He really didn't want to do this. At first. This was less of a Plan B than a Plan Last Resort. An insurance policy he'd been reluctant to cash in. But with the bridge to Sugar Rush burnt, there wasn't any other way to get up to snuff and take his revenge.

The last experience had been less than thrilling. But...this time it would be on his own terms. Total deletion would be the outcome regardless of which of his schemes succeeded but...

Frag it.

His conversion into a viral process happened slowly over the 15 years he reigned as King Candy. Oh the things he could do with direct access to the code vault! Still, even with all that power he always had to be cautious. Careful that he didn't destabilize his new found domain. Careful he wasn't discovered.

And now? Now when all that ability could bring him ultimate vengeance? When all that tiptoeing was unnecessary? He'd been reduced to a shadow of his former glory. The pitiful energy reserve at his disposal only allowed him to manipulate code on a small scale now. Over time he could be back on top. Over time he didn't have though. Alt C even rejected his entrance. Without an anchor program of some sort, he'd eventually start to decompile.

How low he'd sunk.

It's good then, he mused, somethings have such simple coding that a small change was all he really needed...to render them immune to their greatest weakness.

Best way to do that? Start with a queen...

*GITC*

"You sure as shit did. Why would programmers do that?! Viruses don't do anything but destroy!" Ralph barked.

"And you know this how? This isn't some half baked fringe theory. Even before the incident that exposed Turbo's deception, I studied this in depth Mr. Wreck-It. He somehow gained enough know how to not only disable the Sentinels in Madam President's game, but deceive me as well." Dorian's gaze became sharp. "I explore. I scan. I analyze data. I go on through backdoors. I assess holes in security and act accordingly. I have done so for all of the arcade except Sugar Rush for obvious reasons. Continue to do so. That is my function, my directive."

"Just...wait a second. No one's ever seen you leave the game. The only ones not part of FAR that even know what you really look like are all standing right here. The picture on the console hides you in shadows. Surge takes his job seriously but is the biggest blabber mouth I've ever met. Seeing you is NOT something the guy can keep hush hush." Tamora frowned. "You're lying."

" Am I? Are you so sure?" That gamer damned smirk returned. "I am a virus as well my dear. A type of Daemon known as a White Hat."

*GITC*

Meh...

This was the most poorly executed infection since that dumb guy tried to upload the ILOVEYOU virus into Mario Kart GP after Litwak caught his kid trying to hack the Cyclone and get it to spit out more tickets. The logistics of why that had no chance of working in the first place were so, so very sad.

Worse, it had piggybacked without any notice, spreading to three games. THREE! Sometimes immunity posed annoying problems. But it finally got recognized before manifesting in number four. Thank Gamer; saved the trouble of even more pointless busy work. Having to backtrack would be a pain in the bitmap as it is.

Pitiful didn't begin to describe this bug though. The threat level was so low, no wonder scans didn't detect it right away. No need to even run it by the big guy, the cure had been part of the arsenal for almost a decade. If only easy didn't also mean tedious-.

"Girl, I have been calling your name for a nano. You okay?" Cammy shook her brunette friend's shoulder slightly.

"Yup. Just lost in thought. Razeon's been planning something, wondering what. I love him to bits but the man is not exactly discreet. All his sneaking around tipped me off." Heather smiled.

"Men. Guile's the same way. It's cute he thinks he's Mr. Stealth." The blonde chuckled. "Anyway, time for your fitting."

"Wha?"

"Oh please. If I have to wear a dress for the sole purpose of making Li's look better, you get to join the experience. Come on." The braided fighter gently pushed her in the direction of the waiting tailor. Roll had made quite a name for herself as a seamstress on off hours while her brothers Rock and Proto hung out. The android girl had great taste.

Heather Lightheart felt so excited by those words. Excited to be there for her friend's big day. Excited to be welcomed, accepted by someone outside of FAR.

It made the headache of going back to drop vaccine packets for a joke of a virus in the places she'd been tonight worth it.

*GITC*

When one door closes... huh Turbo?

Yeah, Dorian's a snarky SOB. Who loves rattling people's chains.

Sentinel Classes

Daemon: The class with the greatest variety and most powerful. They are deceptive in that they don't seem like much at first glance. Even the powers they display can seem...ordinary. But this class can warp the reality of a game because they are viruses.

Types Identified:

Voland- Thrall

Dorian Twilight- White Hat

Soldier of Fortune: Contrary to the name implication they aren't' mercs. They are thrill seekers with their own strict moral code. What many refer to as rough and tumble. Though their tactics can stray into guerilla warfare on occasion, they do take their duty very seriously and let nothing stand in the way of mission completion.

Types Identified:

Sergeant Calhoun - Unknown

Major Sergeant Havok - Unknown

Berzerker: Often sprites with anger issues. But sometimes they are the nice guy you don't want to piss off. The obvious ones have more active control over what they do. The fact that the 'nice guy' types don't even know what they're capable of makes them more of an issue.

Identified:

Wreck-It Ralph- Primary

Fix-it Felix- Encrypted.

Any guesses what Heather is? Hint: She's not what she seems n_n

So about my limited understanding of computer programming. According to Wikipedia, the defining characteristic of viruses is that they are self-replicating computer programs which install themselves without the user's consent or knowledge. From what I understand, not all viruses are harmful (some are being developed to be useful) and in terms of "thinking programs" they are some of the closest things we have to real AI. A daemon is a computer program that runs as a background process, rather than being under the direct control of an interactive user. While typically part of legit programs, they can be introduced, altered, started or stopped as or by a virus. With that said, for the purposes of this fic, a daemon will be treated as a category of virus.

Also kinda going with my reference to Voland's blatant character homage, Daemon from Reboot. As powerful as she was, she couldn't access the web on her own to spread her infection, a major setback. Unlike her viral brethren who often declared they enjoy chaos, violence and destruction, she did not seem to see what she did as evil. Instead believing herself a messiah destined to bring harmony and order. Which pretty much meant the utter oblivion of everything but still she saw it as saving not destroying.

...

I feel the collective scorn of code monkeys everywhere permeating my screen.


	13. Warning: System Error

Sup.

I'm sure you've noticed by now that the main logic of this fic comes from the principles of how computers work in the Reboot universe. I've updated certain elements (show came out in 1994 but was on and off again until 2001) to reflect modern technology advances as best I could but that's the heart of it.

I'll do the whole list of alters, karts, powers, track and new character info at the end for a change. You'll see why soon.

Onward!

*GITC*

"Oh that's just great." Felix threw his hands up. "Not only do I find out I'm probably more destructive than they guy programed to wreck buildings for living I've talked to viruses in half an hour! Note, you both give me the heebie jeebie."

"Well sorry my mere existance-. Heather!" Dorian's head snapped to the left and he was gone with a ripple in space. Leaving three people and a panther blinking at the the spot he'd occupied.

"That was rude. Where'd he go?!" The Princessisent slid off of Nyx's back. The big cat merely chuffed and stalked off into the bushes, out of sight.

"Oookay. Now what?" Ralph blinked.

"Well, if Daemons are the masters of their games, what one knows the other should too right?" Tamora placed a hand on her hip. "Saddle up, we got a train to catch."

*GITC*

Ha! The toughest game in the arcade had laughable security afterhours. All he had to do was lower his energy level to barely a blip and he was in. Sugar Rush actively swept for his signal but here he was as noticeable as air.

"Good thing. We have a date your majesty." He spoke to the massive cybug caged in the final tower of Hero's Duty. The queen who laid all the eggs used in the game was easily 4 times bigger than he had been as Turbug. His nature allowed him to override the bug devoured him then. And would make taking over this mindless beast a piece of cake too. He opened the door to her prison and held his ground as she lunged at him.

The instant her claws and mandibles snared him, the top of the tower was bathed in red light.

*GITC*

It wasn't ideal but they had to know what Dorian was getting at before he just bailed on them. So once again they were in Ville de l'Étoile du Matin, this time on purpose.

"Allo again. 'Ave you come to 'ear zhe Word zhis time?" A familiar gentle voice questioned sweetly.

From above, Voland descended. He'd been floating under the glass domed skylight when they entered his throne room...who does that?! Was he trying to surprise them?

He hovered inches from the floor as he's done last time they met. Eyes soft and warm. That placid smile inviting them to feel safe and content in his presence. Welcomed and loved.

Knowing that feeling happened to be a weak viral compulsion unsettled the adults of the quartet to no end.

"Er...hi. Again. Um no. We have some questions, your lordship. If you're not busy..." Felix nervously trailed off as he rumpled his hat.

"I zee. But...were you not just visiting Monsieur Dorian? You were quite adamant about reaching 'im. Zurely 'e would by by better to zpeak to, non?" the boy ruler looked genuinely perplexed.

"Well he just ran off in the middle of the conversation." Vanellope griped. "This is kinda important."

"Of course. I would be 'appy to 'elp such brave sprites."

"Dorian told us your immense power comes from being a virus. Just how does that work? From what we know viruses do nothing but corrupt and destroy. There's no such thing as a benign one." TJ spoke up. "No offence."

"None taken. Oui, I am a virus as all daemons are. My function is to bring order to chaos, affect 'armony. 'Owever, zhere iz a major restriction on my power zet in place by my programmer." He drew his legs up as if sitting side saddle mid air and rested his hands on his lap. A far off look on his face for a moment before addressing the group again. "Would you like a demonstration? Another lost one 'as found zee light."

The heros backed up a bit at that only to jump when the huge doors behind them swung open with enough force to bang against the walls. Standing there, looking angry as all hell, The Shredder.

Only Ralph and Felix recognized the man. His game had come and gone long before either lady was plugged in. But...that was over twenty years ago! He and the turtle brothers all vanished the day their game was unplugged. Most believed the warriors felt accepting oblivion to be more honorable than fleeing when their screen shorted out. Not like they had to make a split decision about it. The console sat there, still plugged in, for days while Litwak tried to arrange for repair as it was by far one of the more popular games of the day. The owner had ultimately been told a specific component for that model display was no longer manufactured. Not only that but the game itself had been discontinued.

Where was he all this time if not deleted then?

"You. I have a bone to pick with you boy." The ninja snarled. Stalking forward like a tiger on the prowl he easily shoved Ralph aside to stand before the purple skinned boss and glare. The wrecker wasn't light by any stretch of the imagination and it surprised him to be moved like a toy poodle.

" 'Scuse you pal!"

"Save it tubby."

"Welcome child. You zeem zo upset. What ever for?" Asked so innocently, for a second the others believed it sincere.

"I am no child boy. How is it I have rotted in that subterranean cesspool for two decades while that rat and his mutant freaks have been living it up in this paradise?!"

"Master Zplinter and 'is ztudents zimply found zhier way 'ome faster." Voland wasn't at all bothered by the harsh tones or the Shredder's threatening demeanor. "I am truely zorry you 'ave zuffered zo."

"SORRY?!" He roared incredulously.

"Oui. Zhat is all meaningless zhough. You can let go of all zhat now."

"Hardly! You owe me for all the time I wasted in that hell brat. All the pain and despair you could have ended if you'd bothered to share your secrets. Are only heroes allowed here? Is that it?! The other half is unworthy?!"

Our favorite quartet watched with trepidation. She didn't know who this guy was but he looked tough to Vanellope. Able to shove Stinkbrain out of the way like nothing. Huge and covered with spiky armor. Scary metal claws attached to his hand which were twitching, desperate to strike the cause of his anger. Who floated unperturbed less than 4 feet away.

The young looking Daemon had been designed proportional to what gamer children looked like, as the fighting game characters were grown ups. So even though he was physically a little kid, Voland was slightly taller than Felix. Still dwarfed by the one before him. He had to levitate to remain at eye level with the guy for Peanut Butter's sake!

The adults on the other hand held no illusions that should a fight break out, Shredder would get beat down like a piñata. Calhoun didn't have to know who the new guy was to understand he had no chance. You don't run a whole game level without being the strongest thing in it.

A shout of fury would be the only warning before razor sharp metal skewers jutted out intent on impaling that youthful face.

Vanny yelped and covered her eyes.

Felix looked queasy before cringing away.

Ralph muttered "Whoo boy." And cringed too.

Calhoun reflexively reached for her gun.

Voland continued the smile serenely. Then stopped the blow using a single, petite finger pressed to a blade with zero effort. To his attacker's utter amazement. But something else glinted in his eyes too.

That shock quickly gave way to a new one as jolts of green energy originating from the point of contact wracked the man's body. He screamed before dropping to knees. The child regarded him patiently, looking down at him with a knowing gaze. Waiting for a reaction.

As he finally looked up, the villain removed his helmet/mask combo. For the first time, the crew noticed what accepting the Word really meant. Before they'd all been more concerned about getting away from the creepy church than looking around. The Japanese warlord's eyes flashed, pulsing veins spiderwebbed across his temples and into his hairline. The same color as the energy that had just been discharged. All the rage that had been clear in his eyes simply ceased to be. Replaced now with a calm visage.

"Zhere is no need for anger. No need to 'urt anymore. Welcome 'ome my child." Voland ran a hand lovingly though short black locks. Ralph REALLY wanted to gag when Shredder leaned into the touch like a pet eager for it's master's affections. Calhoun was right there with him. "Go, live your life."

"As you will it, my lord." Without further ado, he stood and turned. Casually strolling out the way he came and donning his mask once more. As if that whole thing didn't just take place.

In that time, Tamora figured it all out. So fraggin simple! Voland couldn't infect the unwilling. That was the restriction. Despite his rage and then attack, Shredder had given up; she'd seen it in the look he had. He knew in his core that the small boss could annihilate him. It's what he wanted. The whole point of striking. But only because he didn't feel he deserved to exist anymore. But some small part of him desired to be here and Voland sensed it. He knew from the moment he barged in. Just as he knew the four of them weren't abandoning their games. The instant they touched, the demon child took the invitation and infected him.

He called them travellers and asked if they would accept the Word. He called the warlord child but made no such inquiry. Didn't have to. His programing required him to attempt to persuade the unwilling to join, just less aggressively if their game was still plugged in. If their reasons for refusal were justified, he let them go. If they would most likely cause problems, since they couldn't be swayed, they had to be deleted.

Dorian's status as a White Hat meant he could break into any system but only through his trojan Heather. Even then, he could only make changes that helped like vaccinating harmful malware, repairing corrupted data or fixing security flaws after she reported such issues to him. He ran off while talking to them because she encountered something she couldn't handle alone.

Holy motherboard.

What would happen if those restrictions ever failed?

*GITC*

It happened so suddenly.

One minute eight of the nine daily avatars were preparing to head out to the selection screen, getting set for the coming races. Vanellope was still gamer knows where. It wasn't uncommon to just hang out there even a few hours before opening. At some point, Gloyd and Rocher had even emerged from the Taffy Swamp and were socializing though a bit uneasily. Heather had finally gotten around to visiting the strawberry stretch girl in her own game.

The next? Taffeyta's new friend looked at the pumpkin boy and his shy friend then frozen in place. Her body rigid as binary flowed from her mouth rapid fire, non-stop. A purple aura swirling around her as she kept reciting code. The two doubled over in shock and pain, feeling as if they were being torn apart. The others just felt a pulling sensation. The aura flared wildly then rushed outwards with a blinding flash, knocking everybody on their molasse.

Now, instead of 14 children milling around Sugar Rush Speedway there were 24. All the racers were suddenly face to face with the alters that had been locked inside their codes for 15 years and randomly appearing in their places for the last week or so. All had been vaguely aware of each other but never actually met.

Except for one. Crumbelina found herself staring at someone she'd never heard about- her alter. For some reason, conditions had never been satisfied for them to switch but here she was. A brunette with braided pigtails down to her waist. She wore a cream colored button up shirt decorated with gingerbread cookies and tied across her stomach and cut off shorts held up by black suspenders spotted with white frosting dots. Her green eyes sparkled, freckles dusting her cheeks. Light brown hiking boots with fluffy white socks on her feet.

"Hello. I'm Crumbelina. What is your name?"

"Howdy! I'm Sorbetty Gingerspice." She grinned.

Yeah. This was Betty, her sister. They grew up in different areas hence Crumbelina's Italian accent and Sorbetty's Texan one. Like her, Betty's kart looked more like a standard go kart, only with a gingerbread body, gumdrop steering wheel, white icing piping and gold wheels made of crystallized ginger. The number 8 in white encircled by a green icing dragon. The Snackdragon was just as fast as the Tira Missile.

The posh racer couldn't do anything but cry and hug the other girl. Turbo was a right sour piece of candy. Hiding their powers in the sugar cubes for his own purposes. Striping out whole levels of the game, Forcing them to forget their families! All so he could be top dog. She'd been grateful he was gone since first remembering that Vanny was their leader. Now she was glad the bastard was dead and scattered.

Heather on the other hand collapsed like a discarded marionette. Into the arms of a tall, dark and eerie looking guy with purple hair. Most of the kids scooted away from the new arrival. Dorian looked at the four boys Vanellope had been so worried for and glared. Not at them but the broken black bands that had probably been on their wrists. Hidden under their jackets and never really questioned. Lying his weakened Trojan down gently he walked over and inspected the pieces. His frown deepening.

Good news was he now understood why their powers seemed so bizarre in contrast to the others. These four were Sugar Rush's Sentinels. Two sets of twin Chaos Daemons.

The bad news was the programming in those bracelets kept them merged but shouldn't have kept them benign in those states. Combining one or more viral code strains, even if closely related, created a super virus. Turbo managed to find a way to suppress their power levels and keep them too weak to be a threat. But HOW?! What did he do with the overflow? He obviously hadn't meant to create two juggernauts that could crush him if they ever realized what he was doing.

And it hit him like a fragging freight train.

If that little glitch was siphoning their energy, he certainly couldn't absorb or contain it all. It'd rip him and Sugar Rush apart like crepe paper. But he could disperse it across the grid to make sure his changes stayed in effect using those bracelets. Locking away memories kept Vanellope and the Sentinels out of his way at the same time. That's what kept the program from collapsing under the stress of so many changes. Now without him to monitor the flow, it began to eat at the foreign code it was being used to strengthen. This Travis boy attempting to unlock all the racers just sped up the process. When Heather encountered the perversion, she went into emergency rootkit repair mode without warning to correct a possibly fatal system error. Knocking herself out cold.

Unfortunately Dorian also realized something else that overflow could be used for. Creating a backup copy of the unrestricted virus Turbo had evolved into. Ready and waiting to activate the second the original went offline. Anchored to nothing and just having enough reserve to be a pain in the bitmap if he had a plan for revenge.

Outstanding.

*GITC*

And now it comes together.

Here's that list

Vanellope vonSchweetz- The Candy Kart

Power: Teleporting (glitching)- Vanellope needs to see her destination (by visuallizing it or actually seeing it) or she could end up in a worse position; her power up is called SUGAR RUSH

Track: Sugar Rush Speedway

Alter: ?

Power: ?

Track:?

Candlehead- The Ice Screamer

Power: Fire abilities- she becomes too hot for other racers to get near her; SWEET SEEKERS are the power up that contains her power as a weapon rather than defense

Track: Candlecane Lane

Alter: Cherriebomma- The Licorice Whip (a motorcycle); Inspired by Artimage III

Power: Creates explosions- they spring from kisses she blows; CHERRY BOMBS are her power up

Track: Twizzler Town Motor Speedway

Gloyd Orangeboar- The Kernel

Power: Chance (jinxes)- Gloyd's powers are very strange. The damage they cause is hard to fix; it may take several attempts to reset. He's terrified of his abilities but it's made worse by being activated by his emotions; JUST DESERTS is his power up

Track: Candy Corn Fields

Alter: Applejack O'Lantern- Hershula; Inspired by Marshall Lee from Adventure Time Genderbent Episodes

Power: Can swap places with anyone (or thing...)- Applejack can do this anywhere with in a game but it is limited to three racers behind or ahead of him while racing; TRICKY TREAT is his power up

Track: Sugar Skull Catacombs

Snowanna Rainbeau- FroCone

Power: Can phase through things; SUGAR SLIDE

Track: Rainbow Maze

Alter:? Chailata Marmamocha- The Rollup- Coaster; Inspired by female blaxploitation characters

Power: Flight (but limited in her kart); LIGHTLY WHIPPED is her power up

Track: Yoplains

Swizzle Malarkey- The Tongue Twister

Power: Sonic Scream LOLLI-BOOM is his power up

Track: Lolliop Luge  
>Alter: Astrotwinkle Starglazer- The Shooting Starburst; Inspired by Sid Vicious<p>

Power: Blinding flashes of light called Starbursters; He's the only one who's power up is the same as what he calls his power STARBURSTERS

Track: the Astrodome

Taffeyta Muttonfudge- Pink Lightening

Power: Elasticity: her power up is TAFFY PULL

Track: Shortcake Bluffs

Alter: Poproxie Cola- The Coke Bottlerocket; Inspired by the Valley Girl Stereotype

Power: Can alter the track to create liquid traps; her power up is SYRUP TRAP

Track: Old Fizziful

Crumbelina DiCaramello- The Tira Missle

Power: can hijack a racer's kart; her power up is CANDY SNATCHER

Track: Lago di Biscotti

Alter: Sorbetty Gingerspice- The Snackdragon; Inspired by Ellie Mae from the Beverly Hillbillies

Power: Invisibility - her and anything she transfers her power thru touch to disappears including her tracks; her power up is HIDE AND SWEET

Track: Gingerbread Valley

Rancis Fluggerbutter- The Kit Kart

Power: psychic (visions)- his power up is SWEET PEEK

Track: The La Brittle Tar Pits

Alter: Rocher du Reese- The Rocky Roadster; Looks inspred by Zero of Vampire Knight; Persona inspired by Hotaru from Sailor Moon (manga version)

Power: Can alter the track to create obstacles- COOKIE CLUSTER is his power up

Track: Chocolate Caverns

Minty Zaki- Veloci-Wrapper

Power- Time Manipulation- MINT-STANT is her power up

Track: Spearimount Falls

Torvald Batterbutter- The Marzipanzer (restored)

Power: Force Field- CANDY SHELL is her power up

Track: Jawbreaker Canyon

Sticky Wipplesnit- The Blue Sundae Special (restored)

Power: Energy Drain- SUGAR CRASH is her power up

Track: Mount Glace

Adorabeezle Winterpop- The Ice Rocket

Power: generate snow- ICE CREAM CANNON is her power up

Track: Iceerod Trail

Nougesta Brumblestain- Revberry Creamer (restored)

Power: Instantly freeze people and things- COOL WHIPPED is her power up

Track: Wintersweet Cove

Jubileena Bing-Bing- The Cherriot

Power: Concusive blasts- BUBBLE TROUBLE is her power up

Track: Derberry Track

Citrusella Flugpucker- Alternating Currant(restored)

Power: Electric Charge- SHOCK TART is her power up

Track: Tart rAMPler Station

Sentinel Classes

Daemon

Voland (Thrall) : creates devoted slaves

Dorian (White Hat) and Heather (Trojan): able to bypass authorization to access any system

Gloyd and Applejack (Chaotic- Distortion)- able to warp/randomize code and utterly destabilize a program or process beyond repair

Rancis and Rocher (Chaotic - Override)- able to completely overwrite the function of a program without initially causing instability.

A daemon is a program that runs in the background until triggered to act by another program or process and is outside the user's direction once initiated. As the widest variety of Sentinel they are deceptive in that they don't seem like much at first glance. Even the powers they display can seem...ordinary. But this class has the potential to warp the reality of their game.

Rocher is able to alter terrain at will but doesn't have much control over what he does when malicious entities appear. It's because of him Turbo can't access the bridge into Sugar Rush anymore but he doesn't even know he did it. He also has type of psychic ability that lets him sense and project thoughts, emotions and energies.

Rancis' in race power seems like a dud but is in fact a ruse. His telekinesis is his real weapon as a sentinel. He shares the ability to sense and project thoughts, emotions and energies like his twin does.

Gloyd literally disrupts the program wherever he happens to be. His power is very dangerous as it can take a while for the game to reset any damage he may do. As a 'jinx' he causes bad luck, so the things that happen are almost always negative. His power is tempered by drinking Rancis or Rocher's blood.

Applejack also disrupts the program around him, it's just slightly more predictable. His switching power extends to his surroundings and gives him the power to rearrange things on purpose. Like his brother his powers are weakened by drinking from the twins. It prevents him from doing much damage by just goofing off as use of it is voluntary but his desire for blood is not.

Voland appears somewhat less threatening than his in game peers. However he is able to override the will of others and force them into servitude. The catch is his devotees must be willingly subjugated but after that there is no going back, you belong to him. Refusing is possible but if you present a real threat, he will delete you. Either himself or by using his 'warriors' to do it.

Dorian and Heather are symbiotic. He's the power and she the delivery system. He creates repair patches, etc and she distributes them. He has the power to force his way into restricted programs to diagnose them while she appears harmless enough not to be noticed.

Soldier of Fortune

Sgt Calhoun, M Sgt Havok

Contrary to the name they aren' mercs. They are thrill seekers with their own strict moral code. What many refer to as rough and tumble. Though their tactics can stray into guerilla warfare on occasion, they do take their duty very seriously and let nothing stand in the way of mission completion.

Berzerker

Fix-It Felix, Wreck-It Ralph

Berzerkers are often obviously the sprites with anger issues. But sometimes they are the nice guy you don't want to piss off. Ralph has more active control (but is sorta a klutz) over his strength. The fact that Felix doesn't even know what he's capable of makes him more of an issue.


End file.
